Counting Down The Days
by Morbidmuch
Summary: I ate the half piece of chocolate, feeling it melt on my tongue. I nearly had a heart attack when Edward ate his and then licked his fingers clean of the chocolate. That man was going to be the death of me. AH/AU HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back! This is my new story that I've been working on since I finished The Air I Breathe, and I'm super excited. This story is very differed from TAIB, mainly in the way that I'll be updating every day until Christmas Eve. It's sort of an advent calendar fic. The first chapter isn't really my favourite (first chapters usually aren't) because you need to get the back-story told and introduce characters and what not. But I promise it be more exciting as the story goes on. Chapters are gonna vary in length, some will be on the shorter side, and some will be long. It's just how I write, I stop where it feels natural. Outfits can be found on my profile; there aren't outfits for every chapter, but a lot of them so if you're like me and like some visual, be sure to check that out. Also, this story takes place at the University of Chicago. I know nothing about college, only what I've read in fics and watched on TV, so please forgive any inaccurate information I might give out. The setting isn't really a big part of the story, so hopefully this won't be a problem. So anyway, I'll stop rambling now after the longest AN ever, and I hope you'll enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 1

_Wednesday, __December 1__st_

"Bella, I swear if you don't hurry up I'm going to leave without you and you'll have to eat alone and try to evade Mike Newton's sweaty hands all over you!"

"One second!" I called back as I wrapped the elastic band on the end of my braid, knowing that Alice's threats were never empty. Finally the end of my braid was tied up, and I grabbed my bag before rushing to the door, where Alice was waiting for me. Her four inch heeled boots clicked against the floor as we started to walk towards the stairs and I was amazed that she was wearing heels in the middle of winter. But then again, it's Alice we're talking about.

"Did you get to finish your essay last night?" Alice asked, knowing I had problem focusing on my school work yesterday because of some…distractions.

I shook my head. "I'm heading out to the library after classes to finish it."

"You want company?"

"No, that's okay. I'm not gonna be good company anyway." We walked down the stairs and I started to feel a sneeze coming on. The moment I sneezed I missed a step and fell flat on my ass. Pain radiated up my tailbone and I hissed. "Damn it." Another bruise for Bella. Great.

"Oh God, you okay?" Alice moved in front of me and held out her hand to help me up.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I sighed and accepted her hand, using her as leverage to get up on my feet again. "I should have learned by now that I can't multitask."

My butt was still sore when I sat down at the dining hall to eat breakfast. Jasper, Alice's boyfriend had joined us and he and Alice were now sitting and being disgustingly cute. It usually only bothered me on a small level and today was no difference. Sometimes though, I got a small pain in my chest when I saw them together, only because I had no one to behave all disgustingly cute with. I ripped off another piece of my blueberry muffin and stuck it in my mouth when I felt someone come up behind me and tug on my braid before popping down next to me.

I looked to my left and saw Edward, Alice's brother sit there. I felt my cheeks burn red. "Good morning Edward,"

He grinned crookedly at me and started toying with the red apple in his hands. "Morning Bella."

My heart beat so loudly I was sure he could hear it. It all started this summer when I hung out a lot with Alice and her family. Suddenly I started to see Edward in a new light, and by the end of the summer I was in love with him. I wasn't sure why it took me so long to look at him like that; he was one of the most amazing guys I knew. It didn't help that he looked like a Calvin Klein model with this messy bronze hair, dark green eyes and killer smile; he had girls hanging after him 24/7.

"I have _it_; do you want to open it now or later?"

"Later," I smiled and continued eating my muffin. Despite of the unrequited feelings for him, Edward was still one of my closest friends and I refused to let it come between us. The fact that he had no idea probably had something to do with it as well.

"Fuck, I forgot my sheet music in my room. I'll see you later." He gave me another grin before rising to his feet and leaving, bag swinging across his back. I resisted the urge to sigh; it felt too crappy teen movie.

"Was that Edward?" Alice had resurfaced from Jasper and looked surprised.

"Yeah, he had to leave though because he forgot his sheet music in his room."

"Damn him, he knew I needed to talk to him. Typical of my brother," she muttered as she pulled out her phone, presumably to text Edward.

"No offence Ali, but you were kind of unreachable," I chuckled.

Jasper laughed and kissed Alice's pouting lips. "I need to go too; I'm heading over to Moore. See you tonight." He gave Alice another kiss, squeezed my shoulder and made to leave.

"Okay, I love you," Alice smiled, a big toothy grin that looked like it could split her face wide open.

"Love you too,"

"I love you too Jazz," I added teasingly and Jasper chuckled.

"Love you too, Bella. Bye."

After he'd disappeared from her sight Alice turned to me. "Hey, stop hitting on my guy. Get your own."

"You know I can't help it," I replied in the same tantalizing tone. "It's the accent; you know I'm a sucker for southern guys."

Ten minutes later I made my way across the campus for my first class of the day which happened to be British Literature. It was a cold but beautiful day, barely 40 degrees but sunny. I wrapped my scarf tighter around my neck and elongated my steps, wanting to get to class a few minutes early. The classroom was barely filled yet, and I sat down in my usual seat in the front. As the minutes ticked by more people started to fill the room, and the teacher Mr Berty entered. I liked him, he was harsh but fair and encouraged everybody to speak their minds.

I felt my phone vibrate with a new text message and pulled it up from my pocket quickly. I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face when I saw it was from Edward.

_O__ur usual place at 5? _

_Yes. I'll see you there. _I texted back and then slipped my phone back in my pocket.

The seat next to me had been empty up until now, but that changed when a tall, slim girl with dark hair sat down next to me, slightly out of breath. "I over slept!" Angela explained as she tried to calm down her breathing. "My alarm clock didn't go off, I think it's broken."

"Remind me to get you a new one for Christmas. Isn't this like the second time since Thanksgiving?"

Angela nodded but didn't say anything out loud because Mr Berty called the class to a start.

My classes went by quickly, and soon I was heading towards the library to finish my essay on Chaucer, which was due tomorrow. The library was mostly empty, and I walked along the tables to my favourite one in the back, which was pretty isolated from the rest. I started working right away, knowing I wanted to be done by 4.30 the latest. I put on my headphones and started up my iPod on my 'study' playlist.

Two hours later I finished reading through the essay and smiled when I was finished. It was good. I took a quick glance at my watch and was relieved to see it was only little after four. It meant I had time to do some reading before meeting Edward. I walked at a slow place towards the small cafe that had become Edward's and my usual meeting place.

I ordered a large coffee and a bagel to eat while I waited, and then made my way to an empty booth. I slid in on the blue seat with a wince; my tailbone was still sore from this morning's fall. I took a large bite from my bagel and stuck my hand down in my bag, grabbing blindly after the book I needed. Finally I got a hold on it and pulled it out, nearly spilling my coffee while doing so.

"Shit!" I swore but managed to keep my coffee upright. I opened my book and was just beginning to read when a familiar voice interrupted me.

"Hi Bella!" I looked up and saw Mike Newton standing there, looking far too excited to see me than he should be. We met in freshman orientation, and he'd been following me around ever since. He asked me out at least once a week and never got the message that I wasn't interested.

"Hey Mike," I replied while hoping he would just go away so I could read my book in peace. No suck luck though, as he sat down next to me in the booth, far too close for my liking. I shifted uncomfortably, really needing Edward to show up soon.

"What are you doing?"

"Uh, waiting for a friend." I was getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"Angela?"

"No, me." We both looked up and I nearly cried out hallelujah when I saw Edward standing by the table, looking more than slightly amused.

"Hey Cullen," Mike stuttered out. He was terrified of Edward. Why, I didn't know.

"You're in my seat."

Mike was in such a hurry he nearly fell over while standing up and I bit my lip to hold in my giggle. With a 'bye Bella' Mike left the coffee shop, only glancing back at us once. Of course, as he wasn't watching where he was going he collided with the glass door. This time I couldn't contain my laughter, and soon Edward joined me. He sat down in Mike's vacant seat and put his messenger bag up on the table.

"What are you reading?"

"Alice in Wonderland. Did you bring it?" I was impatient, excited for what I knew was coming.

Edward nodded. "Are you ready?" His voice was serious, like he was a secret agent or something.

I nodded severely. "I'm ready." My voice was as serious as his, and I struggled to stay in character as Edward opened his bag and took out a colourful calendar with Santa and his reindeers on it. My eyes met Edward's and my heart did back flips in my chest.

He handed me the calendar and I located the tiny square with the number 1 on it. Carefully I flicked the cardboard piece open and it revealed a tiny milk chocolate candy cane. I picked it up and quickly broke it in half before the chocolate had time to melt, and handed Edward one of the pieces. His fingers touched mine when he took it, and I felt a surge of electricity flow through his fingers into mine. I ate the half piece of chocolate, feeling it melt on my tongue. I nearly had a heart attack when Edward ate his and then licked his fingers clean of the chocolate. That man was going to be the death of me.

"The countdown has begun," he said, and I nod in agreement.

"Yes it has."

If today was any inkling, the 23 days left until Christmas was going to be very interesting.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wanna thank everybody who has read this little story, and an extra thanks to those who reviewed =) The link to the outfits can be found on my profile, as usual. Other than that, there isn't much to say.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 2

_Thursday__, December 2__nd_

I was between classes when my phone started ringing. The caller ID said 'Rose', and I answered it happily.

"Rose, hey!"

"Hey girl. Listen do you wanna join me for lunch at Pierce?"

"Off course! My Chaucer class is just to hand in our essays, and then I'm all yours."

"See you in 10?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later." I hung up and continued towards my class.

Rose was Jasper's twin sister but while Jasper had preserved his southern accent when the Hale siblings started college, Rose's only came out when she was drunk or upset. She was as close of a friend like Alice, and I knew she always had my back just like I had hers.

The classroom was empty when I arrived, only my teacher Mrs Jones was standing by her desk, shuffling around her papers. She looked up when she heard me walk towards her and smiled.

"Isabella, you're early."

"I thought I'd try to beat the crowd,"

She chuckled. "Smart thinking."

I took out my essay from my bag and made sure I'd written my name on it before handing it over to her.

"Thank you. Have a nice weekend,"

I smiled back at her. "You too. See you on Tuesday."

As I walked towards Pierce I sent off a text to Rose saying I was on my way. I noticed her as soon as I walked through the doors, and I wasn't the only one. All 5'8, blonde, blue eyed inch of her was envied by girls and admired by guys. But despite her appearance she was hard as nails and mostly preferred classic cars over gossip. She was most definitely an example of the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'. She stood up as I approached and we hugged tightly.

"How are you?" I asked as I sat down.

"I'm great. How about you? Any progression?" Both Rose and Alice had somehow gotten into their heads that Edward was as into me as I was him, he just didn't know about it yet. I called it bullshit.

I sighed. "Rose…"

"Don't start with me Bella Swan! We both know you're heads over heels over that guy, and I know he feels the same. How can he not? You're awesome."

I blushed at the compliment, but shook my head at her words. "He just sees me like a friend. A good friend, but a friend nonetheless."

"You're almost as blind as he is," Rose said. "You're perfect for each other. Just go for it!"

"I can't! What if I make a move and he's not at all interested? Then I've ruined our friendship, and I'd rather be his friend than nothing at all."

"But what if he **is **interested?"

I shook my head. "He's not."

"You don't know that. I've seen the way he looks at you, he's most definitely interested."

I sighed again. "Can't we just agree to disagree?"

"No." Damn, I'd almost forgotten how stubborn Rose was. "We're going to Nefertiti tonight, and you're going to charm his pants off."

Nefertiti was a jazz and blues club in downtown Chicago where we went weekly because Edward and a few of his friends played there on Thursdays. It was tradition, and there were very few occasions where we hadn't gone. It was also our weekly chance to dress up, something both Rose and Alice loved. I wasn't as enthusiastic, but I still liked to dress up once in a while.

...

I made sure that my bathrobe was tightly closed before going out from the bathroom. You never knew who you might run into in the corridor. Alice was arms deep in my closet, going through all my clothes at an alarming speed.

"Uh, Alice. What are you doing?"

"I'm picking out your outfit for tonight," she answered without looking up.

"You don't think I can dress myself?" I went over to my dresser and took out some underwear and pulled them on below the towel. I then hung up my towel on my desk chair. After being roommates with Alice for a year and a half I'd gotten over my modesty.

Alice scoffed. "You can dress yourself for everyday wear just fine, but you can't be trusted when it comes to evening activities."

"Thanks for the confidence," I chuckled and walked up to her. "So maestro, what have you decided for me tonight?"

Alice stood up and I saw in her hands a pair of opaque tights and a black and grey ruffle tank dress I'd forgotten I even owned. I groaned. "A dress Alice. Really? It's like 35 degrees out; I'm going to freeze to death."

"Okay, first of all, it's around 40 degrees out, and second of all, you're not going to be outside anyway. The only time spent outside is going to be when you walk to and from the car. You're really going to spend the entire night indoors."

I sighed, knowing she was right. "Okay, hand it over."

Alice smiled triumphally and gave me the clothes. I got dressed quickly and then pulled out my knee high black suede boots. There was no way I was wearing heels tonight. Alice gave me the evil eye but we had an agreement that if she chose my outfit on Jazz nights, I got to wear whatever shoes I wanted and vice versa.

The door opened and Rose stepped in, looking amazing as usual in skinny jeans and a rose coloured top. "Looking good there, Bella," she winked as she gestured for me to sit down on my desk chair. If Alice was my very enthusiastic and sometimes unwelcome personal stylist, Rose was my hair and make up person. Sure, I'd put on some mascara on my own for school but when it came to fancier things than that I was clueless. Rose grabbed my make up bag and started to roam through it, picking up whatever it was she was planning on using on me.

Rose was more often than not more…negotiable than Alice, and she was more aware of my comfort zones and didn't often push them too much. I sat patiently and waited for her to finish with my make up, and when she did she moved straight to pulling my hair from the high ponytail I'd put it in so it wouldn't get wet in the shower. She didn't really do much with it, just curled it softly and then pinned the sides up so I wouldn't get the hair in my face. Or rather, so I wouldn't have my hair to hide behind. She knew me too well.

"There all done." Rose stepped back with a smile. "Edward's not going to know what hit him."

As I went to get my jacket I saw Alice, and couldn't help but to compliment her. She was wearing black floral print tights and a white ruffle blouse tucked into a black mini skirt. On her feet were pink high heeled Mary Jane's.

"You look great, Alice."

"Thank you. Now let's get this party going."

We all bundled up in our scarves and winter jackets and left the room, taking the elevator down to the ground floor. I barely had time to see the lobby and a large jeep parked out front before I was lifted into the air and hugged so tightly I had hard time breathing.

"Hey Emmett," I managed to wheeze out, patting Emmett's big back.

"How are you Belly?" he put me down and I sucked in a much needed breath.

"Better now that I can breathe," I smiled up at him. Emmett was Rose's boyfriend, and the warmest and kindest person I knew. He was very tall, at least 6'4, and with muscles that would make the Hulk jealous. The first time I met him I was terrified, but then I took one look into his grey eyes and dimpled grin and melted. He was basically just a big teddy bear.

"Are y'all ready to go?" Jasper said, and we all went towards Emmett's big jeep. He was the driver, off course, and filled the car with loud rap music the moment the car started. He then started to sing along with the music as we tore out of the parking lot. Many things can be said about Emmett, but that he's a cautious driver is not one of them.

"I'm turning this shit off!" Rose yelled to be heard over the music and reached out to change the station.

"Yo bitch, why you crampin' on my style?" Emmett said, and even from the backseat I could feel the frosty look Rose was giving Emmett. "Sorry Rosie," he said, sounding like a little boy.

I only chuckled; they were really entertaining at times.

The ride to Nefertiti didn't take longer than 10 minutes, and for some reason I started to feel nervous when I saw the familiar exterior of the club. Even from the outside it looked crowded. I'd been here before on a night when Edward wasn't playing, and there weren't nearly as many people here. It seemed like The E-minors were the drawing card of the club.

It took us a while to get in, the line outside was so long, and by the time we were inside I was shaking from the cold. Always the hugger, Emmett wrapped me up in his big bear arms and didn't let go until I was warm again.

"Thanks Em," I smiled at him, and he winked.

"Anytime."

With Emmett leading it wasn't hard to push through the crowd towards the table we always sat at. I sat down in my usual seat facing the stage and crossed my legs.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Jasper asked, not having sat down yet.

"No thank you," I answered, not taking my eyes off the stage. I heard Jasper go up to the bar and get drinks for the others, and then the MC entered the stage.

Applauds were heard as he grabbed the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another Thursday night at Nefertiti, the best Jazz club in New Hampshire. As usual we're going to start the evening off with a very talented group of young men. Ladies and gentlemen, The E-minors!"

Everybody clapped their hands, and I heard Emmett behind me doing catcalls. Edward entered the stage from the left, followed shortly by the other two members, Garrett and Bryan. Edward sat down at the piano and looked out over the audience. His eyes met mine and he winked, causing my face to burn up. He adjusted the microphone and started to speak.

"Hi, we're the E-minors." A new round of applauds broke out and Edward waited until they had died down before he continued speaking. "If you've been here before you probably know who we are, but if there's some newbies in the audience; I'm Edward, and this is Garrett," Garrett did a drum roll, "and Bryan." Bryan bowed to the audience, and smiled. "We'll be playing for you for the next 45 minutes, so sit back and enjoy."

Edward counted in and they started playing, and I could only close my eyes and soak in the music. The smells of smoke and perfume, the atmosphere and the music sent shivers down my spine. All too soon it was time for their break, and I fidgeted in my seat. I saw Edward come out from backstage, but my heart sank when I saw he wasn't alone. A tall blonde woman walked by his side, smiling and talking animatedly with him. I watched as he laughed at something she said, and how she playfully smacked his arm. I felt like crying. I knew that Edward would get a girlfriend sooner or later, but I didn't realize that it would be so soon. Or that I'd have to see it. Or even that I'd feel like this about it. As they came up to our table I tried to plaster a fake smile on my face. The only problem; Edward knew me too well, and he gave me a worried look. He could see right through me.

"Hi guys, this is Kate. Kate, meet my crew."

As he introduced everyone around the table I took the opportunity to check out Kate some more. She was very pretty with timeless features and large round hazel eyes. She was exactly the kind of woman I could see Edward with and that thought depressed me immensely. Still I smiled when Edward introduced me to Kate. There was no need to be rude, despite that I already hated her.

"It's nice to meet you; I've heard nothing but good things about you from Edward." She smiled sweetly and my heart sank. It was hard to hate her when she was obviously so nice. When she turned to talk to Alice, Edward touched my arm gently.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I looked up at him, noticing the concerned look in his green eyes, and nodded. I would lie my out of this; I couldn't let my feelings ruin his happiness. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

He looked like he didn't believe me, but didn't push the matter. I saw Garrett approach our table carrying two beers, and smiled at him. He was always friendly and nice to me. I looked out over the club, doing some people watching, something that I always enjoyed. When I looked back to the table I was pretty shocked to see Kate and Garrett kissing. The confused look must have showed on my face, because Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Kate is Garrett's new girlfriend. They've only been dating for two weeks."

Okay, now I felt stupid for thinking Edward and Kate were together. My mood lifted after that, and I laughed and had fun like usual. Still there was the feeling in the pit of my stomach saying it was only a matter of time before Edward really found a girlfriend. What would I do then?

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know. **

**PS. Just because I'm such a music nerd: The name of the band, The E-minors, I named them because in an E-minor chord, you play the notes E, G and B. Ergo, Edward, Garrett, and Brian. xD  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to everybody who has reviewed, and to all the lurkers I say; come out, come out wherever you are! Outfit can be found on my profile, and the song that Edward plays is Cherished Moments by Jon Schmidt.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I do own my own copy of Eclipse which should be arriving in the mail today.**

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**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 3

_Friday, December 3rd_

I sat on my bed watching Alice getting ready for her date with Jasper. It was their one year anniversary tonight, so they were going to spend the night at a hotel. It was always fascinating to watch Alice get ready for a date. She, who normally was a whirlwind of fast and impulsive decisions, planned everything into the last detail. She put together her outfit days in advance, trying it on with different jewellery to see which looked the best, and I'd even seen her try different hair and make up looks days in advance. When it came to Jasper she was nothing if not thorough.

"What do you think?" Alice spun around, showing off her outfit.

"You look stunning Alice, Jasper's going to be tongue tied when he sees you." She truly looked amazing. She was wearing a purple satin sheath dress with cap sleeves and a scooped neck in the front and back. With it she had on black strappy heels and a black satin clutch.

"Thank you. Can you believe it's already been a year?"

"It feels like 10," I teased, and Alice chuckled. As on cue there was a knock on the door, and Alice went to open it. Jasper stood on the other side, looking very smart in grey dress pants and a white shirt with a black tie. There was no point in saying hi to him, because he only had eyes for Alice. At least he had the common sense to close his mouth. Gaping fish was not a good look for him.

"You look breathtaking,"

"You're perfect," she whispered back, and I almost felt like an intruder while watching their special moment. Sweet as they were, they did have a habit of just standing and staring into each others eyes for an inconsiderable amount of time.

"Okay kids, let's get this show on the road. You have reservations soon and you don't wanna be late." I said, standing up and handing Alice her coat.

Jasper laughed and took the coat from me, holding it up for Alice so that she could put it on. "We're going. Have a nice night, Bella."

"You too. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Thanks Bella. I'll see you tomorrow." Alice hugged me tightly, and then they left.

"Have fun!" I called after them and then closed the door, looking around the room. It had been a while since I had a night to myself and as I fired up my laptop I decided that a quiet evening alone was just what I needed. I had just logged on to my e-mail account and was sorting through the hordes of junk mail when there was a knock on the door. I frowned. I wasn't expecting anyone. As I opened the door though I was surprised to see Edward standing on the other side, his left hand tangled in his hair and with a plastic bag in his right hand.

"Edward, hi,"

He smiled, one corner of his mouth rising higher than the other. "You busy?"

"My evening plans consist of me not leaving this room, so not really."

"I'm bored. Wanna do something?"

"Like what?"

He shrugged. "Anything. I was planning on going over to a practice room and play for a bit, but if you'd rather do something else…"

"No! You know I love hearing you play. How about we hang out in a practice room until we're bored, and then order some pizza or something and hang out in your room? We also have another window to open in the calendar."

"True. You ready to go?"

"In a sec." I turned back into the room and turned off my computer before grabbing my wallet and jacket. The door shut behind us, and then we walked towards the elevators.

"What are Emmett and Rose doing tonight?" I asked, and got my answer in the wiggling of Edward's eyebrows. Those two were insatiable, and it was lucky Rose and Jasper had an apartment off campus where they could be, or else they'd probably keep the entire campus up all night long. "It's a wonder those two haven't broken more beds than they already have."

It wasn't a long walk to the cluster of buildings that housed all music and art majors. Edward entered a five number code in the alarm system outside the front door, and the door clicked open. We went inside and continued up towards the third floor, where the music rooms were.

The room I knew Edward preferred to be in was thankfully available, and he grinned triumphantly as he let me in before him. The room was one of the larger ones, and featured a baby grand piano instead of the upright ones which were in the other rooms. I knew Edward preferred the sound of the baby grand. There was a small beige loveseat where I'd spent a lot of nights while Edward played, reading or just listening to him playing.

"Do you have any requests, mademoiselle?" Edward asked, putting on a horrible French accent.

I shook my head, sitting down on the love seat. "Play whatever you feel like."

He sat down at the piano and started to play. Scales at first to warm up, and then he switched to real songs. Some pieces I recognized, others I didn't. He played modern songs, old songs and I even think he played a jazz version of Mary Had A Little Lamb. Then he started playing a piece that from the first notes captivated my heart and soul. It was hopeful, with an underlying strength and a sense of serenity.

By the time he finished I was blinking away tears. "That was beautiful. Is it one of yours?"

Edward nodded, looking up at me. "I wrote it for my parents, and played it when they renewed their vows on their 25th anniversary last year. It's my mother's favourite piece."

"I can see why."

We stayed in the room for another hour, and Edward played through most of my and his favourite songs. He finished off with an amazing cover of Imagine that sent shivers down my spine.

"You want Thai or Chinese food?"

"Thai. I've got a craving for satay sauce." My stomach growled at the very idea of food, and Edward laughed.

"Agreed. Why don't I buy the food and you can get the snacks?"

"Meet you at the dorm in 30?"

Edward agreed, and we parted ways. Luckily the campus store was still open, and I looked around the ice cream section for at least 5 minutes, wondering what flavour to buy. I ended up grabbing a Strawberry Cheesecake because it was my favourite. I also picked up a six pack of cokes and two bags of gummy bears. Oh yeah, we were going all out tonight. The cashier looked a bit funny at me when I went to pay, but I paid him no mind.

One of the other dorms was having a party, and I passed a lot of drunken frat boys on my way back to my dorm. I chuckled to myself as I saw a dark haired guy walk straight into the closed door. It was a huge difference to my dorm, which on the outside looked practically deserted. I knew though that inside people was up to all sorts of things. I took the stairs instead of the elevator; I needed to burn of some calories before the Thai food and ice cream fest. When I came to my floor I saw that Edward's door was partially open, and took it as a sign he had arrived before me. True enough, when I entered I saw him standing by the desk, taking out our food from the bag. Edward lived in one of the two single rooms on our floor, and it really came in handy in times like these.

"I bought a shitload of snacks, so I hope you're hungry," I announced, putting the bag down on the floor by his bed and shutting the door behind me. I had no idea what his parents paid extra for his room, because it was luxury compared with my and Alice's. Besides the standard bed, a desk with chair, a bookcase, a closet and a dresser, had a decent size TV with a DVD player and a small couch.

"I'm starving actually, so that's good. You wanna eat before the movie?"

"Let's open the calendar first, and then eat."

Edward took it out from a drawer in his desk and handed it to me.

I shook my head. "It's your turn to open it." I watched as Edward found the right square. He opened it and then held up the chocolate for me to see. It was a tiny present, complete with a ribbon and a big bow. What he did next both shocked me and made my heart beat so fast I feared it might explode. Ever so gently he raised the chocolate present to his mouth and carefully bit of half, making sure his lips didn't make contact with the candy. When he then handed the candy to me I could only stare at him. Thankfully I was able to shake myself out of my funk pretty quickly and before I could think more about it I put the chocolate in my mouth and chewed it before swallowing.

"Okay, let's eat!" I sat down on the extra chair by the desk. As the food reached my mouth I groaned, it was so good. Both Edward and I devoured our food rather quickly, and when I'd swallowed the last bite I felt like I was going to explode.

"So what are we watching?" I asked Edward, gathering our empty cartons and throwing them away before half collapsing on the couch. "Nothing funny though, I think my food will come back up if I laugh."

"Lord of the Rings?" Edward offered, kneeling down by his DVD's.

"Which one?"

"Return of the King?"

I nodded. "Only if we watch the extended version – the drinking game between Legolas and Gimli is one of the best moments in the entire trilogy."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

I took a minute to observe Edward when he put the DVD in and started to adjust all the settings. We were really similar: had similar tastes in music, movies, humour, food and political views. We hated rap music, loved gummy bears and both agreed that The Beatles were the greatest band ever. As Edward sat down next to me and started the movie he brushed his shoulder against mine before settling down. The couch was a bit too small for two people, especially when one of those two people was over 6 feet tall, so it was a bit cramped. Not that I complained, but that's the way it was.

The movie started, and the familiar sound of Howard Shore's musical score reached my ears. Edward got up and grabbed both bags of gummy bears within the first half hour of the movie, and even though I was still full from dinner I couldn't resist eating the gelatin goodness. About half way into the movie I started feeling my eyelids drop. I yawned and rested my head on Edward's shoulder, bringing my legs up underneath me and curling up against Edward's side. I felt his body stiffen slightly, but then he relaxed again. Much to my dismay I felt my eyes starting to drop, and I could feel myself falling deeper and deeper towards sleep. When I was only seconds away from falling asleep I heard Edward whisper something, and then I felt a soft pressure on the top of my head. I didn't have time to figure out what it was he had whispered, because I fell asleep before I could think more about it.

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Outfit can be found on my profile, thank you to those who have reviewed. On with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 4

_Saturday__, December 4__th_

When I woke up I didn't immediately realize something was different. I felt the slightly-too-hard standard mattress underneath my body, but there was something different. When I opened my eyes I realized why. I was lying in Edward's bed, curled up into a ball with my nose buried in a pillow that smelled like him. I sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before looking around. Edward was curled up on the couch in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. I highly doubt that even Icould find a comfortable position on that couch, and he was a foot taller than me. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, noticing for the first time I didn't have my shoes on. My purple socked feet looked back at me when I looked down, and I quickly located my shoes next to the couch. Edward must have put me to bed last night, and I couldn't help but to blush at the thought. I wondered if I'd said something embarrassing in my sleep. I was known to talk in my sleep, and it could lead to some pretty interesting situations.

I noticed Edward was snoring slightly, his mouth open just a fraction. Before I knew it my hand was reaching out to touch his face. When I caught myself I froze, and my hand fell back at my side. I gathered my shoes and put them on, trying to be quiet so that Edward could get his sleep. Of course, I tripped over a chair and had to hold on to his desk to not fall. I looked quickly up at Edward, but he was still asleep. Then he groaned and rolled over to his back, lifting his right arm over his head. I gulped when I saw that his grey t-shirt had ridden up, showing his toned pale stomach and the trail of bronze hair leading down into his jeans. Again I fought the urge to reach out and touch him, and instead tip toed towards the door.

I didn't have a clock on me, but I guessed it was pretty early. As I exited Edward's room though, I was met with a hallway flurry with activity which meant it was at least noon. It was weird, because I never used to sleep this late. Alice wasn't back when I came into our room, and honestly I wasn't expecting her to be. She didn't come back for another two hours, and during that time I had time to thoroughly wash my hair, sort all my laundry for tomorrow and do some reading. When Alice did come back, she looked tired but was practically glowing with happiness.

"I take it last night went well?"

"Oh Bella, it was so romantic!" Alice sighed and I could nearly see the little hearts in her eyes.

"So what did you do?"

Alice threw her overnight bag on her bed and then jumped up next to me, laying down on her back. "First we went to this amazing Italian restaurant, then we went to a piano bar that played awesome music, and then we went back to the hotel."

"So, was anniversary sex better than regular sex?" I teased, and Alice's grin widened.

"Well, Jasper did like my new lingerie." Oh yes, that damn lingerie I had gone with Alice to buy, my face beet red every second inside the store. "Speaking of, what did you do last night?"

I blushed and averted my eyes. "I hung out with Edward."

"And?"

"And nothing," I looked back at her, trying to mask my disappointment. "We're just friends Aly."

She shook her head. "No, you're not. I've seen the way he looks at you, Bella. Everybody does, you're the only one who can't see it. Mark my words Bella Swan, by the end of the year you'll both have overcome this ridiculous fear and finally admitted your feelings to each other."

Normally, one shouldn't bet against Alice because she is always right, but in this case I seriously doubted her.

"Oh, and by the way, I talked to Rose earlier and we're all going to that new club Sliver tonight."

I groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Yes we do! So stop complaining and I might go easy on you tonight."

We ordered up a pizza a little later to eat before we started getting ready. Tonight's getting ready was heaps different from how we got ready on Jazz club nights. Then, the goal was to look artsy and chic, not too sexy for the club environment. On nights like these however, the goal was to look as fabulous and sexy as possibly without looking trashy. Both Alice and Rose had tried to explain the difference between sexy and _sexy_ to me many times, but I still didn't understand anything of it.

"So Obi-Wan, what do you have for me tonight?" I asked Alice, grabbing another pizza slice from the box.

"Tonight my little grasshopper, you'll be wearing this." Alice pulled out from my closet a dress I recognized as buying this summer but never having worn. It was a two tone dress, the skirt being white and the top covered in silver sequins. "Can I trust you to choose your own shoes?" her look was teasing, and I repressed the urge to throw my pizza at her.

"I'm 19 years old Alice; I'm quite capable of choosing my own shoes. By the way, what are you wearing?"

"You know that black dotted dress I bought when we were in Seattle?"

I nodded. "You're gonna look hot, I love that dress."

"True my friend, true. Okay Bella, go wash your hands; I'll kill you if you get grease stains on your dress."

"Yes mother," I answered back cheekily. Alice rolled her eyes and lay the dress down on my bed. I quickly washed my hands and then changed into a strapless bra before I gently picked up the dress and put it on. Alice helped me with the zipper in the back, and I smoothed down the silk of the skirt.

"We'll fix you hair at Rose's, okay? We're running a bit late."

We were going over to Rose and Jasper's apartment for a pre-party, since none of us except Emmett could legally drink. I put on my favourite pair of heels; my favourites because of their blue colour and the heel that was chunky compared to most of Alice's shoes, which allowed me to walk at least somewhat comfortably in them.

It was Jasper who opened the door, and he smiled when he saw us. "You look marvellous, ladies."

"Thanks Jazz. Is Rose in her room?"

At his nod I went into the apartment, leaving Alice to give her boyfriend a proper hello. Rose's door was open, and I knocked on it to alert her of my presence.

"Hey Rose,"

She turned to look at me, a smile lighting up on her face. "Damn girl, you clean up nice."

"You too." She certainly did. The teal bandage dress she was wearing accentuated every curve of her body and she looked like a movie star.

"Sit down and I'll get started on your hair."

When I was done and looked myself in the mirror I felt beautiful. Rose had done my hair in loose curls and then pulled them out so they resembled waves more than curls. My make up was different than usually, because she had practically only done mascara on my eyes and instead teamed it with a red mouth. By now Alice had also joined us, and was doing her make up in front of the mirror.

"We are going to be three sexy bitches tonight," Rose said confidently, pulling her fingers through her blonde hair.

"Agreed."

I heard the front door open, and Emmett's voice rang out through the apartment. "The liquor has arrived!"

We went out to the living room and my heart beat extra fast when I saw Edward sitting on the couch, opening a vodka bottle and pouring it into the five glasses that were placed on the table. The rolled up sleeves on his shirt exposed his strong forearms, and I realized I was staring.

"Close your mouth honey," Rose whispered as she walked past me. As happened too often when if came to Edward, I had to shake myself from my thoughts involving me, Edward, and body shots.

"Hey, why didn't you wake me before you left?" Edward asked as I sat down next to him.

"You looked like you needed to sleep. By the way, next time I fall asleep in your room, please just dump me on the couch. I saw you this morning when I left and you looked pretty uncomfortable."

Edward shook his head. "My mother raised me to be a gentleman, and a gentleman doesn't let the lady sleep on the couch." He winked, and I smiled.

"Kids, stop making moon-eyes at each other and let's get this party going!" Emmett interrupted and once again I felt my cheeks heat up. I looked away from Edward and to Alice, who was giving me an unreadable look. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she gestured to Edward and then nodded.

Damn, she was annoying sometimes!

Jasper came into the living room carrying a large bottle of coke that he then preceded to pour into all our glasses. I noticed then that Edward only had coke in his glass.

"You're going non-alcoholic tonight?"

"I'm the designated driver so, yeah."

"Bella, drink up!" Emmett gestured to the still full drink in my hand, and I took a tentative sip, grimacing when I tasted the bitter alcohol on my tongue. "You need to drink faster if you're even going to get tipsy tonight."

"Maybe I don't want to get tipsy," I shot back, winking at him at the same time. He let out a loud belly laugh which made me start to laugh as well.

Somehow, and I still don't know how, I ended up downing two more vodka drinks and a tequila shot before we left for the club. We all packed our butts into Emmett's jeep and were on our way. We sang along loudly with the Queen record playing in the car, having a great time. There weren't a whole lot of people waiting outside the club when we arrived, so we didn't have to stand outside in the cold waiting for too long. I handed the bouncer my ID, and he looked at it briefly before giving it back. Emmett got an orange tag around his wrist which would let the bartender know that he was 21, and then we went inside.

I'd never been there before, so I looked around the club wide eyed. Techno music blasted through the speakers, people were dancing and talking everywhere. I took my coat off and Alice handed it to Edward before announcing we were going to the restroom to freshen up. I stumbled slightly, the combination of the alcohol in my system and wearing heels weren't great, but I managed to stay upright. When we were in front of the mirrors Rose ordered me to stand still so she could reapply my lipstick, and when she was done she fluffed my hair a bit.

"There. Now you're ready to party."

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	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks to everbody who has reviewed/added to alerts/added to favourites. If I only could get those of you who don't review to do ;) Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 5

_Sunday__, December 5__th_

I yawned as I gathered my laundry basket and quietly left the room. Alice was still sleeping, and I didn't want to wake her up. It was barely 11 and I'd like nothing more than to sleep a more few hours, but I had laundry time at 11, and I was in dire need of clean underwear. We didn't get back until 3.30 last night and I didn't fall asleep until 4 am. The hallway was deserted, and I whistled to myself as I opened the door to the laundry room. It was as deserted as the hallway, and I turned on my iPod as I put my laundry basket up on top of a machine. I started thinking about last night as I loaded in my laundry.

_Flashback_

_When we exited the bathroom I saw that the guys had gotten a table for us, and that it stood six drinks on the table. I slid into the booth next to Edward and looked suspiciously at the drink in front of me._

"_It's only a coke," Jasper shouted over the music, and I sent him a grateful smile. I knew the others would probably get Emmett to buy them alcohol, but I was comfortable with the small buzz I already had. I sipped my coke while the others talked about everything and nothing. An R&B song I didn't recognize started to play, and Alice squealed._

"_I love this song! Let's dance!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the dance floor. I managed to put down my drink before I spilled over myself or anyone else, and stumbled after Alice towards the dance floor. Dancing wasn't one of my strong side, and I stood self consciously as Alice and Rose danced and laughed around me. _

"_Come on Bella, let loose!" Rose shouted, and I tried to mimic her movements. I probably looked like a fool, but at least I was trying. It soon became transparent though that this wasn't really my scene when a group of guys started to try to dance with both Rose and Alice. They brushed them off though and I saw both Jasper and Emmett walk up to their girlfriends to dance. Again I felt the empty feeling in my stomach when I saw them laughing and kissing. I wanted that too._

_I started to walk off the dance floor, planning on buying another coke, when a pair of hands on my hips stopped me. I looked up, right into Edward's green eyes. _

"_Dance with me?" _

_I felt the heat from his hands through my dress, and I numbly nodded. I couldn't say no. Edward started to move in front of me, but I was stiff and nervous. Edward moved in closer, and now I could feel the length of his body against my own. _

"_Relax. Close your eyes." I did as he said, closing my eyes tightly and pulling my bottom lip into my mouth. I felt him move around my body, positioning himself behind me. His hands on my hips grabbed a little tighter, and he pulled me back against his body. My breathing sped up, and I didn't know what to do with myself. Then Edward started to dance, moving my hips in a circular motion. Slowly I started to relax, and I covered his hands with my own. _

_We moved together slowly, and I let my head fall back against his shoulder. It was unbelievable how good he felt. Feeling bold and blaming the alcohol still in my system, I pushed my butt back against him. Was I hearing things, or did he groan? The feeling of his hard body behind me, his hands gripping my hips and his hot breath in my ear made heat flood my body. I open my eyes, and see both Alice and Rose looking at me with part shocked, part proud faces. That's when I realize what I'm doing. I was dancing, __**grinding**__ my self against Edward! The same Edward who I had been in love with for almost six months. The same Edward who didn't feel anything but friendship towards me. Or did he? He sure acted like he was enjoying himself. But then again, he could just…I shook my head. What was I doing? Thinking about these things when I was dancing with Edward, something I'd wanted for so long. _

_End Flashback_

A hand on my shoulder made me scream, and I turned around with my heart in my throat. Edward stood there, hands up as if in surrender and with a grin on his face.

"Did I scare you?"

"God damnit Edward! You can't sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry, but I did call your name like three times. You thinking about anything interesting?"

I blushed, remembering the way his body felt against mine. "No, nothing special," my voice is squeaky, and I mentally slap myself. I cleared my throat. "What are you doing up anyway? We got home pretty late last night."

"I couldn't sleep. Also, I remembered we have two windows to open on our calendar."

I put detergent and fabric softener in the machine and was just about to start the machine when Edward stopped me.

"Hey wait, you dropped…this."

Many times in my life I'd wanted the floor opening up and swallowing me whole, but I'd never wanted it so much as I did in that moment. Edward was holding between his thumb and index finger a blue lace thong. Faster than lightening I snatched it from his hand and put it in the machine. "Thanks," I mumbled and closed the door before starting the machine. As it started I turned and hoisted myself up to sit on the machine. "So, calendar?"

Edward took it out and handed it to me. "You can open both of them, and we'll get a chocolate piece each."

I opened the windows with the numbers four and five on them and into my hand two small chocolates fell out: one in the shape of a snowman, the other in the shape of a heart. With my hand shaking a bit I handed the heart to Edward, trying to ignore that it wasn't sub-consciously I gave it to him.

...

I was pretty surprised to learn that Alice had called a floor meeting later that evening, but followed her to the living area where most of our dorm mates were already waiting. Stevenson Hall was a big coed dorm; the four floors housed 25 people on each floor. Almost everybody had already sat down when Alice and I arrived, and I smiled at Edward, who was sitting on one of the couches. He patted the armrest and grinned at me, and like I was a puppet and he was my master my feet moved me forward towards him. I sat down carefully, with my luck I'd probably miss the armrest and fall down on the floor instead.

"Did you do anything useful today?"

"Yes I did. Laundry," he smirked, no doubt thinking about earlier today, and I nearly fell off the armrest.

"That's good." Great, I could feel my entire face was the shade of a tomato. I bent my head down, allowing my hair to form a curtain between us. Only a few seconds later the last people must have arrived, because Alice clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"Okay everyone, listen up! It's time to start this year's Secret Santa!" A lot of people groaned, and I couldn't help but to chuckle. Alice had started this last year when we were freshmen, and somehow gotten everyone on our floor to agree to play the game, even the older students. Alice was everybody's sweetheart. "As usual, just pick up a paper from the hat," she shook the bowler hat in her hand once for good measure, "and you have until December 22th to buy a gift. The price limit is 30 dollars. Any questions?" When nobody spoke up she started going around with the hat, and people pulled out paper after paper. When she came to me I noticed there was only one piece of paper left. Huh, guess I was last then. I pulled it out and unfolded it slowly, revealing the name written with Alice's cursive handwriting.

_Edward Cullen_

I quickly crumpled the paper together in my hand so no one would see and did my best not to look in Edward's direction. Damn it, why did I have to get him? I had no idea what to buy to him. I was so occupied with worrying about Edward's gift that I nearly missed the smirk on Alice's face as she looked at me. She did this on purpose! I tried to give her my 'your dead to me look', but I must have failed because she only laughed.

...

"Come on Bella, we're going over to Rose's for a movie night."

"What were you thinking?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. It's a draw Bella; it's not something I can control."

"Like hell it isn't!" I was pissed. "You need to stop meddling into my love life like this!"

"No, I will not! Everybody besides you can see that you and Edward would be perfect for each other. Don't think I didn't notice you two last night."

"It's never going to happen, Alice!"

"Oh, please. Don't feed me that bullshit. I know you better than anyone and I can see that you're in love with him!"

"That doesn't change anything!" Tears were leaking out of my eyes. "Yes, I love him. I love him more than I ever thought I could love someone, but it doesn't change anything because he doesn't feel anything for me."

Alice eyes softened. "He does Bella. I know my brother, and I can see that he has feelings for you too."

I shook my head. "You can't know that." She started saying something else, but I cut her off. "Can't we just drop it? I'm not in the mood to talk about it."

"Of course. Let's buy some snacks before we go to Rose's, okay?"

I nodded and we walked in silence towards the campus store. I knew Alice meant well, but it was just too much sometimes. But I know that to some point she was right.

I needed to either forget about Edward totally, or tell him how I felt.

I wasn't sure which option scared me the most.

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	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I just got back from a concert I attended last night so I'm pretty wiped out. I'm a bit bummed that people still aren't reviewing, but if you don't want to I can't force you. Please know though that reviews make my day.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 6

_Monday__, December 6__th_

"Do we have to?"

"Come on Bella, it'll be fun."

I gave him a look that said I thought he was insane, and Edward laughed. "I can't walk properly on solid ground, what makes you think I'll be able to walk on ice?"

"I'll be there. I won't let you fall."

Damn, he's a smooth talker. I sighed. "Fine. But if I break something I'm holding you accountable." I stood up from his couch and straightened out my shirt. "I'll see you in a little while."

I had partially recovered from this weekend. Okay, lie. I was almost recovered from this weekend, but then I had a dream that caused me to take a very, very cold shower. So now I was back to square one. Alice was waiting just inside the door, and she handed me my mittens, knit beret and my blue jacket that looked entirely too cold to wear outside. Since the snowfall we had gotten this morning the temperature had dropped, and you now needed three layers of clothing if you were going outside.

"Uh Alice, isn't that jacket going to be a bit too cold?"

"No. You might freeze a bit before we start skating, but you'll warm up soon enough."

I shrugged. "If you say so." I pulled on my outer garments and was adjusting my beret when Edward joined us, already bunkered up in warm clothes. He looked at my beret and broke out in a wide grin.

"You have a yellow beret?"

"Yeah, so what?" I'd gotten the canary yellow beret for Christmas by my mother last year, and found that it was great for when I was in a crowd because I could be easily spotted.

"Nothing. I think it's cute. You ready to go?"

"Yes, we're ready. Oh, mom called earlier and invited us all to dinner tomorrow night."

"Me too?" I asked, surprised.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Yes Bella, you too. Why wouldn't you be invited? Mom loves you."

Esme and Carlisle were like my second set of parents, and Esme was closer to me than my own mother was. There had been many occasions when Esme had comforted me when Renée forgot to call.

The three of us took Edward's car to the ice skating ring, where we met up with Jasper. Emmett and Rose were occupied, and didn't have time to come. Alice, who was the most enthusiastic person of the four of us, took charge and ushered us to the rental booth, where she rented skates for all four of us without even asking our sizes. She was master of shopping, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if she knew our measurements as well.

I eyed the white skates apprehensively as I laced them onto my feet, and I knew that this was going to be bad. Really bad.

"Stop thinking about all the bad things that will happen." Edward appeared in front of me and pulled me up to my feet. I swayed, the skates feeling strange on my feet, and I grabbed hold of his forearms to steady myself.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. Now come on."

I walked carefully beside him towards the rink, and it didn't exactly get better as I come out on the ice. The first thing I did was to slip, and I would have fallen flat on my ass if Edward hadn't held on to me, keeping me upright.

"I told you this was a bad idea." I sent him a frosty glare which he only replied with a laugh. "I'll just go sit and watch while you skate."

"Don't be such a drama queen. Come on, I'll buy you a hot chocolate and a cupcake when we get back."

When I didn't protest he grabbed my hands in his and started to skate backwards. Great, one more thing he was good at. I couldn't even skate forwards, and he could skate freaking backwards. Without a doubt I looked more like Bambi than Michelle Kwan, but at least I hadn't fallen. Yet. I felt like a newborn foal, and my eyes were trained on my feet.

"Don't look down; it's easier if you look up."

I looked up at Edward, and stumbled for a completely different reason. The sunlight made his hair look like burning ember, and it stood in clear contrast to his pale skin. His cheeks were red from the cold, and his green eyes were shining.

"Careful. Just glide."

It took Edward the better part of half an hour to teach me to not to lift my feet while I skated. I was a bit rusty. More like very rusty since I hadn't skated since I was 12 and broke my foot when I fell.

"You think you can skate on your own now?" I looked up at Edward in panic. He wasn't thinking about letting go, was he? Edward chuckled. "Relax; I'll still be right here. I'll just let go of your hands."

"Okay." He let go, and though I found that could still skate, the warmth I'd felt when he held my hands disappeared. We skated for a few minutes and then suddenly I hit a patch of rough ice, surging my body forwards. Edward grabbed my arms to try to steady me, but it was no use. My feet slid out from underneath me, and I fell backwards. Edward tried to keep me upright, but it was too late and he fell down with me.

Well, with me is a relative term. It was more like on top of me! His entire body pressed against mine, arms on either side of my head to cushion his blow. Despite the ice underneath my body, warmth spread through me, and I had to bite my lower lip to stifle the moan that threatened to come out.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked, and his face was so close I felt his breath on my face. I nodded mutely, finding that I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. Had they always been this green?

"Hey, are you okay?" Jasper's voice interrupted whatever moment had passed between us, and scrambled to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I said meekly, accepting the hand that Jasper held out towards me. Getting up while still standing on ice was difficult, for luckily for me Jasper was as solid as a rock.

"Thanks Jazz," I mumbled and watched as Edward skated over to Alice.

We drove back to campus not long after that, and I didn't like the uncomfortable silence in the car. We dropped off Jasper first before continuing towards our dorm.

Edward disappeared into his room with nothing more but a smile in my direction, and I couldn't help but to think what happened at the ice rink was the cause for his behaviour. Maybe he was freaked out. I didn't know, and that was what bothered me.

Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you want to look at it, I didn't have the chance to really think more about it that evening, because Alice kept me occupied. By the time it was time for our weekly viewing of Gossip Girl, I had nearly forgotten all about Edward's behaviour. I say had, because he actually joined us about halfway into the show, sat down next to me and started trashing the show like he always did. Alice fired up quickly, and it wasn't long until she tackled Edward on the couch and started hitting him in the face with a pillow. Yeah, when those two fought they really went all out.

Edward turned a pleading eye to me, begging me to help him get the midget off. His words, not mine, and they only enraged Alice even more. Smart boy, that one.

I shook my head. "Uhuh, you insulted my favourite show and my favourite person. You're on your own mister."

Then off course, Edward pulled me down in their Cullen pile and tickled me until I cried with laughter and shouted uncle until my throat was sore. Only then did he let go of both me and Alice, and before we left the living area Alice called out, "I'm telling mom!"

You'd think they were 9 and 10 instead of 19 and 20, but that's just how they were.

"Sooo," Alice said as she shut the door behind us. "What was that little display at the rink earlier?"

I think I blushed from head to toe and tried to look busy by shuffling things around on my desk. "I fell and dragged him down with me?"

"You're sneaky, I'll give you that."

I huffed. "It was accidental, Alice. Do you really think I could, or would even have to, fake slipping?"

"You have point."

"Why, did he say anything?"

Alice shook her head. "He's tighter than a clam, that one. But don't worry my little grasshopper, you'll be a couple before New Years, mark my words."

I just chuckled and shook my head. She was persistent, if nothing else. But she was also dead wrong.

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	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, so I'm getting notifications that people are adding this story as favourites and alerts, but still no reviews from them. To those who do review I send a big bear hug Emmett style. Outfits and link to the Cullen house can be found on my profile, as usual.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 7

_Tuesday__, December 7__th_

"Can we please not do this? I suck."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"No you don't"

"Edward!"

"Bella!"

"I do suck! I can't even play Mary had a little lamb, and that's like the easiest song _ever!_"

"Practice makes perfect. Now come sit next to me and stop pouting."

I sucked in my bottom lip and rose from my seat on the couch to sit down next to Edward on the piano bench. "Okay Beethoven, teach me."

Edward grinned crookedly. It seemed like whatever strange mood he'd been in yesterday had blown over, because today he was just like he used to be. "The first thing you need to do is position your hand. The right hand plays the melody, and you always position your hand so you don't have to you're your hand so much. So since the melody starts on the A note, and spans from an F to a C, you're going to place your thumb on the F note. Like this." He placed his hand on the piano to demonstrate, and I almost lost my focus as I eyed the way his long fingers caressed the piano keys. "Okay, so put your hand on the keys." I trick to mimic the position his hand was in, but obviously I wasn't doing it right because he chuckled and re-positioned my hand. "You need to cup your hand more. A trick that my piano teacher used to showed me was that you should cup your hand on your knee, like this,"

It took a while, but eventually I got the hang of it and played the simple melody flawlessly. Edward tried to convince me to learn something a bit harder, but I was glad for this small victory.

"Maybe if I practice hard enough I'll be as good as you someday," I teased, bumping my shoulder into his.

Edward chuckled and looked down at his hands, which were resting in his lap. "Maybe."

He looked up at me, and there was a look in his eyes I hadn't seen before. His green eyes seemed darker than usual, and his breathing was heavier. I saw his eyes dart down to my mouth before they met mine again, and my breath hitched in my throat. Was he thinking about kissing me? No, he couldn't be…could he? Slowly, so slowly you could barely see him moving, he inched his head closer to me. My fingers squeezed the piano bench so hard it was starting to hurt. His gaze was captivating me, I couldn't look away. Inch by inch his face came nearer mine, and I felt like I was going to spontaneously combust. I felt his nose touch mine, and my eyes fluttered closed.

Then, my pocket started ringing.

_I don't know why she's leaving, or where she's gonna go. I guess she's got her reasons but I just don__'t wanna know. Cause for twenty-four years I've been living next door to Alice._

That was Alice's ringtone. What did she want?

Edward pulled back swiftly, stood up from the bench and drove his hand through his hair. I took up my phone and answered it.

"What?"

"Jeez, what's gotten your panties in a twist? I'm outside, we need to go, or else we'll be late for dinner."

"Okay Alice, we'll be right down." I hung up and then looked over at Edward, who was standing and looking out the window. "Alice is outside waiting for us, I told her we'd be right down."

Edward turned to look at me and nodded before we gathered our stuff and went down to the parking lot, where Alice's yellow Volkswagen Beetle was parked. I quickly claimed the passenger seat, leaving Edward no choice but to sit in the back.

"I like your dress," I told Alice as I sat down, and she smoothed down the skirt of the white sweater dress she was wearing.

"Thank you."

The drive up to Rogers Park where the Cullens lived took little over half an hour, mostly because of the snow. In the summer, Alice was known to make the trip in 15 minutes. She wasn't exactly a slow driver. She drove, talked, applied lipgloss and changed radio stations at the same time. I preferred riding with Edward, who actually respected the speed limits.

I realized suddenly that Alice's other half wasn't there, and I asked surprised, "Isn't Jasper coming?"

Alice shook her head. "No, he had to study."

"Oh." Jasper had the ability to calm me down in almost any situation, and I really needed that right now. I could feel Edward's stare in the back of my neck, and I shifted uncomfortably. What was happening with us? It seemed as lately things had changed between us. The almost kiss that happened earlier was further testament to that. I looked out the window, trying to focus on something other than Edward. I can't say I was all that successful.

I tried to put all thoughts of Edward behind me as we pulled up in front of the Cullen house. The moment we stepped inside I was assaulted by a plethora of different smells. Esme's cooking was always delicious, and I always left feeling like I just gained 5 pounds. Footsteps sounding against the hardwood floor drew my attention towards the kitchen doorway as I toed off my shoes. Esme appeared in the hallway, a big smile on her face as she held her arms out towards us.

Alice went to hug her, but Esme side stepped her and instead wrapped her arms around me in a motherly hug. "Bella, how are you?"

"I'm fine Esme. Thank you for inviting me."

She stepped back and I looked into green eyes similar to Edward's. He'd gotten his colouring from Esme, that was for sure. "Nonsense. You're family, you're welcome here anytime."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Alice pouted, and Esme gave her a tight hug.

"Not at all, my darling daughter."

"I thought I heard your car," came Carlisle's voice, and I smiled at him. "Bella, how good to see you."

"You too, Carlisle." When you saw Carlisle you definitely realized where Edward got his bone structure from. Even the same crooked grin was something that Carlisle possessed. Alice had inherited his blue eyes but had gotten her dark hair from her maternal grandmother.

"Dinner's almost ready, so let's sit down. Edward, could you help me in the kitchen for a second?"

We sat down at the dining room table, and Carlisle immediately started asking me and Alice about school and life in general. I hadn't really seen them since Thanksgiving, even though they lived so close. When Esme and Edward started bringing the food out, my stomach growled loudly.

Carlisle chuckled. "Dining hall food not doing it for you?"

"What dining hall food? I haven't eaten anything since Sunday because I knew I was coming here," I joked, and Esme laughed.

"You're too flattering Bella."

"I'm only being honest, Esme."

"What are we eating mom?" Alice asked, eyeing the pots hungrily. Seemed like I wasn't the only one who was hungry.

"Pork tenderloin with oven fries and red wine sauce."

"It looks great, mom," Edward said, and Esme mirrored his smile.

Dinner was a fairly quiet affair; everybody was so busy enjoying the food that no one felt like talking. Alice and I helped with the dishes after dinner while Esme got the dessert ready.

I chuckled when I saw the chocolate pie. "It's too bad Emmett couldn't be here." He loved chocolate pie more than anything, and had eaten a whole pie by himself once.

Esme winked. "That's why I made two,"

We stayed at the Cullens the entire evening, and I couldn't remember when I had that much fun hanging out with my own parents. Charlie hadn't swayed from his bachelor habits during the two years I lived with him, and he still had his routine of work, TV, dinner, bed during the weeks and his fishing trips with Billy Black on the weekends. Renée on the other hand always had something new going on, most of which she dragged me to. We didn't always get along, but she was still my mother and I tried to do things she wanted to.

"Edward, why don't you play us something?" Esme asked as she stuck another log on the fire and sat down on the couch. I looked up from the chess game me and Carlisle was playing when I heard the notes of Clair de Lune ring out through the house. I smiled as I looked down on the chess board again.

"Are you going back to Forks for Christmas?" Carlisle asked, moving his rook three squares forward and claiming one of my bishops.

I halted in my movements, realizing I hadn't actually spoken about it with either of my parents. "I think so," I answered. "I spent last Christmas with Renée, so I think Charlie wants me home this year."

I glanced over at the piano, but looked away when I saw Edward looking at me. The revelation of being half way across the country from Edward and my friends here for more than two weeks made a lump form in my stomach.

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	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Don't have much to say. Outfit on my profile; please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

* * *

**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 8

_Wednesday__, December 8__th_

A persistent knocking on my door woke me up at the crack of dawn, and I groaned, "Alice, open the door." There was no sound from her bed, and I opened my eyes to see that she had already left. The knocking continued, sounding more and more urgent, and I sat up gingerly. I shivered when my bare legs were exposed to the cool air, and I wanted nothing more but to crawl back underneath my warm and nice duvet.

"Hang on, I'm coming," I grumbled as I stepped towards the door. I opened it and frowned when I saw Edward standing outside, looking like he hadn't slept. "Edward? What's wrong?"

Without a word he crossed the threshold and pressed his mouth against mine. I yelped in surprise and Edward pushed his tongue into my mouth. A groan left his lips and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me so close to him that there wasn't any space between us. I moaned and closed my eyes, tentatively raising my arms to wrap around his neck. Edward pushed me backwards, further into the room while slamming the door closed behind him. Our kiss turned frantic as his hands run up to the sides of my breasts before turning and going down all the way down to my ass, cupping it and grinding me against him. His mouth broke away from mine and I took in deep gulping breaths as his mouth travelled down to my neck, licking and sucking a spot right behind my ear that made my muscles feel like Jell-O. His mouth kissed all the skin he could reach, down my collarbone and to the neckline of my tank top.

I let my hands fall from his neck and instead ran my hands down his chest to the waistband of his pants. Edward bucked his hips into my hands and captured my lips with his against as I pushed his shirt up to caress his bare skin. A sigh left my mouth as my fingers made contact with his soft skin, running up and down his torso and digging my short nails into his skin. I tore my mouth away from his and opened my eyes, staring into his.

"Edward, I love you."

Edward opened his mouth and let out a quack.

Wait, what?

"Bella, wake up!"

I opened my eyes in a flash, and found I was lying in bed, Alice's quacking alarm clock going off like crazy. It had only been a dream. I was breathing heavily, and I sat up and ran my hand through my hair.

"Are you okay?" I looked over at Alice, who was already dressed and looked worried at me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

I shifted and blushed when I felt the wetness in my shorts. "I'm sure. You go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

Alice left for breakfast, and I lay down in bed again, trying to calm my racing heart. I'd had dreams about Edward because, but none this realistic. I felt like I could still taste him on my tongue, and feel his hands on my body. It was a bit disturbing and I groaned quietly when I remembered what today was, and that I'd be meeting Edward later. In his room. Alone.

I could only hope for this to go well.

...

I changed my shirt before doing a quick hair and face check before I made my way down the hall to Edward's room.

"Hey Bella!" I looked up to see Tanya, a visual arts major that lived down the hall.

"Hi Tanya. Are you heading down to the studio?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I booked studio hours until midnight this week. I suppose you haven't changed your mind about session tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "Sorry Tan, I'm busy."

She smiled. "That's okay. Some other time?"

I smiled back. "Absolutely."

She looked down at my t-shirt and furrowed her brow. "What are you doing tonight anyway?"

"Today it's been 30 years since John Lennon was shot, and Edward and I are having a memorial night."

"Oh, okay. Have fun, and say hi to Edward for me."

"Will do. Have fun."

When Edward opened the door, I saw he was dressed similarly to me except his t-shirt had a different motif. He casually leaned against the doorframe and eyed me. I blushed, remembering my dream.

"Do you think I'm going to let you in while wearing that shirt?"

I looked down at the offending object and then back up at him. "What? I don't have one with only John on it. Besides, you never specified that it had to be _only _John Lennon on the shirt. He was a part of the Beatles, ergo; the Beatles is an acceptable print." Edward huffed, but stepped aside to let me in. "So, what's on the schedule tonight?"

"I was thinking we should work chronologically. Start with A Hard Day's Night, then Help, How I won the War, Magical Mystery Tour and then the Imagine documentary. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great."

Edward had bought gummy bears, and we went through like a bag each per movie, other than our daily calendar chocolate. We sang along with the songs, quoted every line, and it was one of the best nights I'd had in a long time. When we'd finished watching Imagine I looked at the time and realized it was almost midnight.

"I have to go; I have early class tomorrow." I stood up from the couch and stretched out my back. Besides bathroom breaks and getting more snacks we hadn't stood up from the couch once, and my back was feeling it.

"I had fun," Edward said, and I hummed in agreement.

I paused just inside the door and turned to face him, unsure on how to end our evening. Fortunately Edward took that decision for me and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I found out then that if I ducked my head it fit perfectly underneath his chin, and for some reason it made me feel safe. Pulling away a bit I felt him brush away the hair from my face before his lips met my forehead. Hips lips burnt on my skin, reminding me of my dream once more, and I fought the urge to reach out to touch him.

"Goodnight." Edward said, his voice soft as he let me go.

I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow."

Edward held the door open for me to step through and I offered him another smile before I went down the hallway towards my room. I stuck my hand in my jeans pocket to fish out my keys, but was met with nothing but thin air. I frowned and dug a big deeper, but my pocket was still empty. That's when I remembered where my keys were; in my bag, inside the room. Alice wouldn't be back tonight, she was spending the night with Jasper, so I knew she couldn't help me.

"Damnit." I leaned my forehead against the door and wondered what I'd do now. I wasn't about to sleep out in the living-area on one of the couches, but it seemed like it may be my only option. I thought about calling Tanya, but her roommate Irina didn't like me for some reason. There was another option, but I was scared to even think it. Could I, after my dream last night, sleep in the same room as Edward without doing something I'd regret in the harsh light of day? I wasn't sure, but it's not like I had a lot of options.

Slightly nervous I turned around and went back to Edward's room, and I stood and stared at the door for probably about a minute before I got myself together and raised my hand to knock. Edward opened it pretty quickly, and the instant I saw him I forgot why I had come back. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips, showing off the waistband of his boxers. They were black. My eyes drifted over his pale chest with its muscular pecs, a slight dusting of hair on his breastbone and down to well defined abs. I suddenly felt like tracing every groove of his skin with my tongue. I shook myself out of the ogling to meet his eyes. He looked amused, a half grin on his face.

"I'm locked out of my room," I blurted out. "Alice is spending the night at Jasper's, and Irina doesn't like me and I don't want to sleep in the living-area. Can I stay here?"

"Yeah, of course. You can take the couch." Edward went to his closet and took out an extra blanket and pillow and spread them out on the couch. I sat down on the couch and toed off my shoes, realizing that I'd have to sleep in my t-shirt. I wasn't looking forward to it, so I spoke up again.

"You don't happen to have an old shirt or something I could sleep in?"

He seemed a bit startled by my request, but dug out a grey t-shirt that looked like it would reach down halfway to my knees. Edward turned around so I could get undressed in private, and I did so fairly quickly. I still couldn't keep my eyes from roaming across his back, from his wide shoulders down to his hips and the two dimples in his lower back just above the waistband of his pants. I removed my bra last, putting it under my jeans on the floor so Edward wouldn't see it. I cleared my throat to signal I was done, and Edward turned back around. I could see his eyes travel from my face to my toes, and I blushed before lying down under the blanket.

"Goodnight Edward, and thank you again for letting me sleep here."

"No problem. Goodnight Bella. Sweet dreams."

It was those sweet dreams I was worried about, and the fact that I always talked in my sleep.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Huge thank to everyone who has reviewed. This is a bit short, because I'm sick and couldn't be bothered with writing more. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

* * *

**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 9

_Thursday, December 9__th_

All through the morning and lunch I was, in lack of a better word, _giddy. _It seemed strange, but I felt like last night had been another step for me and Edward towards…well, whatever it was that was happening between us. I could only hope that he felt it too. We'd been friends for a long time and had spent many evenings together, but nothing really like what had been going on lately.

I was on my way to my last class of the day when I saw a mop of bronze hair outside the music building. Edward. I considered going over and making plans for later; we didn't have a chance to talk about it this morning, but I stopped when I saw he wasn't alone. Irina, Tanya's roommate was standing in front of him, looking like she wanted to swallow him whole. She was laughing, touching his arm in an intimate way and I nearly cried when I saw the way he was looking at her. I knew I should get to class, but I couldn't get my legs to move. An excruciating pain like I've never felt before threatened to split me in two when I saw her lean in and kiss him hard, her arms around his neck. That pain, however, was nothing compared to the pain I felt when I saw Edward kiss her back, his hands on her hips pulling her closer.

I gasped, and tears pooled in my eyes and spilled over onto my cheeks. So I did the only thing I could think of; I ran. I ran as fast as I could until my legs couldn't carry me anymore and it hurt to breathe. I was at the dorm now, and I hurried inside so that no one would see me. I didn't bother waiting for the elevator; instead I took the stairs up to the fourth floor and by the time I arrived I was ready to collapse because of the physical strain of running, crying and climbing four flights of stairs.

As I went into my room and lay down on the bed my phone started ringing, the ringtone letting me know it was Alice. I tried to control my tears long enough to answer.

"Are you running late or something? Class starts in like 3 minutes."

Crap, I'd forgotten I had another class today. Coincidentally the only class I shared with Alice. I didn't want her pity, nor for her to talk to Edward, so I decided to lie. "My period started and I have really bad cramps."

"Oh, okay. I hope you feel better."

"Thank you. Bye." I hung up and laid back on the bed. It wasn't a complete lie since my stomach was hurting so bad I thought I was going to throw up. It wasn't cramps though, but heartache. I buried my face in the pillow and screamed out all my pain and frustration. Why did I for a second think that Edward would be even remotely interested in me? I knew we'd grown even closer over the last week, but maybe he was just lonely. I knew he'd broken up with his girlfriend Heidi this summer, after dating for two years. My phone beeped with a new text. I took out my phone and read the text, which I saw was from Edward.

_Just watched __Eric fall of the stage and into the orchestra pit. Looked pretty amusing. _

I threw my phone on the floor and sighed. Had it been another day I would have sent a text back, but I wasn't in the mood. The image of him kissing Irina was burnt into my mind, and I didn't want to talk to him right now. I knew I couldn't avoid him forever, but I sure could try.

Then I remembered; tonight was jazz night! I didn't want to go. I wasn't sure I could keep myself together when I saw him. Then I got mad. What was his problem, acting like this way around me, almost kissing me, and then turning right around and kissing Irina! Tears forgotten but still with the pain of heartache in my chest I sat up and took up my phone from the floor. I opened the phone book and found the number I was looking for. Before I could change my mind I hit the call button, and listened to the dial tone before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tan, it's Bella. Are you still free to do the session tonight?"

...

I met Tanya in the dining hall, where she was already sitting and eating when I arrived. She took one look at me and asked, "What's wrong?"

I brushed her question off, not feeling like talking about it. "Nothing, really. Do I need to bring any special clothes or anything for later?"

Tanya shook her head. "No, just bring yourself and that'll do. By the way, aren't you going to Nefertiti tonight? I thought you always went on Thursdays."

I shook my head, taking a bite of my cheese pizza to buy myself a few seconds to think of a good answer. "I'm not really in the mood, I'm really tired."

"Are you sure you're up for tonight then? We can do it another time." Her brow was furrowed, probably with worry, but I assured her that I wasn't only up to it; I was looking forward to it.

We went back to the dorm, and I quickly went to grab my purse while Tanya went to get her camera and what else it was she needed. Well, the idea was for it to be a quick visit, but I didn't take Alice into the equation. She was changing into a pink dress, and looked up at me frantically.

"Where've you been? Never mind, you need to get dressed or else we'll be late."

"I'm not going."

Alice looked shocked. "What do you mean you're not going? We always go to Nefertiti on Thursdays. It's tradition."

"I have plans."

"What plans?"

"Plans! I don't have to tell you every single thing I do!" Alice looked hurt by my outburst, and I sighed. "I'm sorry Alice, I didn't mean to yell. I'm hanging out with Tanya tonight, I promised I'd be her model for her photo assignment and tonight was the only night she had available." I felt a bit bad about lying to Alice, but I didn't want her to know the truth.

"Are you sure that's it?" Crap, I knew it was no use lying to Alice. She saw right through me.

I gave up whatever pretences I had; I knew it was no use anyway. "Alice, can we please not talk about it now? I just really need some time for myself."

She actually looked like she understood, which I was grateful for. "Of course. I'll tell the others you're not feeling well. You do know that you can talk to me about anything?"

I nodded and stepped forward to give her a hug. "I know. Thank you, Alice. Have fun tonight, and don't worry about me, okay?"

She agreed, and I left to meet Tanya. Because she wanted a large variety of photos, she started taking pictures of me as soon as we came outside. It was really strange, having her walk all around me snapping pictures and I caught myself straightening up my back and pulling back my shoulders. If I was going to be in photos I at least wanted to have good posture. This continued all the way to the studio, and Tanya must have taken at least 50 pictures by the time we entered her work space.

"So where do you want me?" I asked, taking off my jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair.

"Sit down, please." She gestured to the plush green armchair standing by one of the windows.

We were in there for nearly two hours, where I stood in every single spot in the room, in every single pose, with every single emotion on my face. When I was told to look sad, I channelled all the feelings of heartbreak I'd felt over the last months, and it was the thought of today's events that pushed the tears from my eyes and down on my face.

"Oh, that's great. Keep that expression!" Tanya snapped photo after photo, and I was starting to feel a bit drained.

"Can we take a break?"

Tanya looked worriedly at me as I sat down in the plush armchair, drying the tears from my face. "You okay?"

Just as I was about to bottle everything up inside again, something broke within me, and the tears started coming faster. I shook my head vigorously. "No."

"Is it about Edward?" her tone was wary, and I looked surprised up at her. She knew? "I'm not blind; I've seen the way you look at him."

Her words only made me cry more, and within an instant she had crossed the room and hugged me tightly. Before I knew it, I had told her everything. Absolutely everything. And afterwards, I actually felt better. Relived. Happy that I had a third party person to talk to, who could give me an unbiased opinion.

"What should I do?" I asked when the tears finally stopped, and Tanya sighed.

"You're not gonna like what I have to say. You need to talk to him, ask him how he feels for you. If he feels the same, that's great. If not, then you need to get over him."

"I'm afraid to tell him, because our friendship will be ruined as soon as he knows how I feel."

"Unless he feels the same way about you. Granted, I don't know him very well, but I have seen the way he looks at you when you're not looking."

I had no answer to that, and Tanya didn't push me. Instead she asked if I was ready to continue, and I nodded. I needed some more time to think about all this.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Another short one, but I have a fever and have coughed up one of my lungs I really can't be bothered. Hope you like.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

* * *

**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 10

_Friday, December 10__th_

I squealed when Emmett picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder and spinning around in circles. "Emmett, put me down! I just had dinner, I'm gonna puke!"

"As you say, little lady." He put me down on my feet and I had to hang onto his arms until the world had stopped spinning and I could stand on my own two feet. "So, what are we doing tonight?"

"We could have a guitar hero tournament? Or an X-men marathon?" I suggested, and Emmett pretended to think very hard, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"Hmm…I know! Felix is having a keg party, let's go there!"

My heart sank. "Emmett, I don't wanna go to a keg party. Can't we do something else?"

Emmett had the decency to look a bit ashamed, and he suddenly reminded me of a little boy who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I kind of already promised Felix I'd come." I sighed. "We don't have to stay all night! Just a little while. Come on Bells, I'll look out for you."

I sighed again. "Okay, but let's not spend the entire night there,"

Emmett agreed with a dimpled grin.

I realized about ten minutes after I entered Felix's and Alec's apartment that this was a bad idea. There were people everywhere, and I only recognized a handful of them. I made my way to the kitchen, where the keg was. There was a plethora of liquor bottles on the counter, and I eyed them warily. I didn't really know a lot about alcohol, I needed Emmett for this. But he had disappeared, so I was left on my own. I picked up one of the iconic red cups that seemed standard at college parties and looked at the various bottles of liquor on the counter.

"You look a bit lost, do you need help?"

I looked behind me to see a good looking blond guy standing there, looking amused at me. "Yeah, I'm a bit handicapped when it comes to alcohol. Maybe you could point me in the right direction?"

He smiled, showing off his straight white teeth and moved up to stand beside me. "Of course. I'm always glad to help a damsel in distress."

"I don't know if I'm a damsel in distress, but it's good to have someone around who knows what he's doing."

"I'm James, by the way." He held out his hand, and I shook it. He had a firm grip, and his hand was warm. There was something in his blue eyes that made me blush.

"I'm Bella. So, can you fix me up something to drink? Go easy on the alcohol though, I'm kind of a lightweight."

James chuckled and started browsing through the bottles. He picked up a vodka bottle and peach schnapps, and I made sure he didn't pour in too much alcohol. Then he mixed in two different kinds of juices, and presented me with the drink.

"What is it?" I asked as I took a tiny sip. It was really good; you could barely taste the alcohol.

"It's a sex on the beach."

I almost choked on the drink, and couldn't help but to blush. "It's pretty good."

James and I went out in the living-room and he introduced me to some interesting people. One girl, Anna, I recognized from one of my classes and we talked a lot. James didn't really leave my side for the entire evening, his hand either on my shoulder or on my back. His touch wasn't exactly unwelcome; it felt nice to know that _someone_ was interested in me. At the same time, I was slightly uncomfortable with the attention he was showing me.

I only saw Emmett briefly, and he looked like he was having a good time. I started feeling that I wanted to leave, but I didn't want to go without letting Emmett know, so I decided the next time I saw him I'd let him know I was leaving.

"So you're an econ major?" I asked James, who grinned lazily. I was starting to feel the alcohol of the four or so drinks I'd consumed, and it was getting heavier and heavier to blink.

"Yeah, I am. Do you want another drink?" I hesitated, and James ran his thumb down my cheekbone. I shivered, and his grin widened. "Come on, one more drink won't hurt."

I nodded, and flinched when another dizzy spell hit me. James grabbed my waist and led me into the kitchen. Like I weighed nothing he put me up on the kitchen counter before turning his back on me to fix my drink.

"So, why are you hanging out with me tonight? I'm not very cool, you know," I slurred.

I could hear James laugh, and he turned to face me, drink in hand. "I beg to differ. Here." He handed me the drink and I took a huge sip.

"Mmm, yummy." I grinned and downed the rest of the drink. It tasted a bit stronger than the previous ones, but it was still delicious. I remembered then I hadn't had very much for dinner, and lunch was only a chicken noodle soup. I slammed my empty cup down on the counter and jumped down. Unfortunately my balance was off, and I stumbled forward, right into James' arms. "Sorry," I giggled.

"No problem." James seemed more sober than me, and I stumbled after him as we went back into the living-room. Someone had changed the music, and the hip hop song that was now blaring through the speakers hurt my ears. James leaned down to shout in my ear. "You wanna go somewhere quieter?"

I nodded vehemently, and let James pull me away from the crowd. The hallway we were going through was spinning, and I saw James turn his head and speak to me, but I didn't hear a word he was saying. My limbs were heavy, and every step was an effort. Black spots appeared in front of my vision, and I groaned. "James, I don't feel so good."

"Relax Bella, I'll take you to a quiet place."

My skin tingled, like a thousand small needle pricks all over my body, and I couldn't feel my teeth. I ran my tongue over my gums, over and over again, but my teeth were still numb. Suddenly James stopped, and I crashed into his back. I heard the sound of a door opening, and then I was being pushed inside a room. It was dark, but I could make out the contours of a dresser to my right and a bed straight in front of me. When James turned me around to face him the entire room spun, and I clung to his forearms as I wouldn't stumble.

"Finally," he whispered, and then he was kissing me. I groaned, trying to turn my face away but he held the back of my neck in a vice. He pushed his tongue into my mouth and I gagged, punching and pulling at his arms and chest to get him off me. Panic surged through my body, and I started to cry when I felt his hand at the button of my jeans, trying to unfasten them. My survival instinct kicked in, and I bit down on his lower lip hard. He pulled away with a snarl, and touched his fingers to his bloody lip. "You bitch!" he pushed me backwards so I landed on the bed and then lay down on top of me, making it impossible for me to escape. I closed my eyes and let my body go limp. The room was still spinning, and it was hard to determine what was real and what wasn't. I once again felt his fingers try to get my jeans undone, and I started wiggling like a worm. Then, all of the sudden, the heavy weight on top of me was gone, and I heard a slam and a groan before something heavy fell to the ground.

I opened my eyes and saw Emmett standing there, his right fist raised and James lying on the floor, unconscious. "God Bella! I'm so sorry, I never should have let you out of my sight!" he reached out to pull me to my feet, and as I stood up the world spun.

"Emmett?"

"I didn't know he was here, if I did I would have kept you away from him. Fuck, Alice is going to kill me."

"NO!" I yelled, and Emmett looked shocked. "Please don't say anything. To neither of them." I closed my eyes tightly and tried to stop the queasy feeling in my stomach.

"Bella, you can't ask that of me."

"Emmett, please! I'm begging you." I looked up at him and tried to look stern, but the fact that I felt like I was going to throw up probably didn't help me.

Emmett sighed. "Okay, for you. Now let's get you out of here."

I clung to him, but even with the small step I took the world spun faster. I stopped and took a deep breath, and looked at Emmett. Things were getting black again, and I'm pretty sure Emmett caught me as I passed out.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here's another shortish one. They should be getting longer soon, I'm almost positive. Thank you all for reviewing and the wellwish I got, it warms my heart. I'm off now to buy some Christmas presents, the first of the year, and I might just buy Remember Me on DVD for myself just because I love it so much. Peace out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 11

_Saturday, December 11__th_

When I woke up I didn't immediately open my eyes. My head was throbbing, and I knew opening my eyes would only make it worse. Despite the amount I'd drunk last night I still remembered everything. James' hands on my body, his mouth on mine. The queasy feeling came back in full force, and I barely opened my eyes and saw the bucket standing by my bed before I threw up. Right away there was someone lifting my hair from my neck and dabbing me with a cool washcloth. I retched a few times and then lay back in bed.

"What time is it?" I groaned, bringing my hand up to my face and rubbing my eyes.

"Almost eleven," came Alice's voice from beside me. "I brought you breakfast. Do you think your stomach can handle it?" she held up a muffin and a cup of coffee, and when the smell of it hit my nose I immediately bent over to throw up again. "Huh, I guess not."

"I'm sorry," I coughed, wiping my mouth with the washcloth laying next to the bucket.

"No need to apologize. You've helped me with my hangovers more times than I can count." She turned around and put down the breakfast on my desk. "Here, take an Advil." The glass of water she handed me felt refreshingly cool, and I swallowed the Advil before emptying the glass. I put the glass down on my nightstand and my eyes followed her as she moved across the room. "I made plans with Rose today, are you feeling well enough to join us?"

I shook my head. "I'm just gonna take it easy today, maybe get some more sleep."

"You do that. I hope you feel better, okay?"

"Thanks," I smiled and rolled over to face the wall. I curled up in a ball and it didn't take long before I fell asleep.

I woke up several hours later, feeling much better than before. I didn't get up right away; I just lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. There was a knock on the door, and I stood up carefully before going to answer it. Edward stood on the other side, looking tired. He smiled and held up a bowl of steaming soup in one hand and the advent calendar in the other.

"I come bearing gifts; the finest gourmet chicken soup and exquisite Belgium chocolate. For you, mademoiselle."

Despite that I tried to still be upset with him for kissing Irina, I couldn't help the smile on me face. He always seemed to bring out that side in me. "Thank you, kind sir. Please, come in." I entered before him and sat down in my bed, arranging my pillows to support my back and pulling my covers up over my lap. My stomach was rumbling loudly, and Edward handed me the soup with a smirk. "Can I have that muffin, too?" I asked, pointing to the muffin Alice had left me earlier, and Edward eyed it for a second.

"You know what; I think I'm going to eat it myself."

I groaned. "Edward! Give me my muffin."

Edward handed it over with a grin. "No need to get cranky. Now eat your soup before it gets cold."

"You do realize that chicken soup is typically given when someone is sick, not hungover?" I said between spoonfuls. The soup warmed me up from the inside out, and I relished in the feeling.

"I know," Edward stated, picking up one of my textbooks and looking through it absentmindedly. "But you like chicken soup."

"True."

There were a few minutes in silence while I ate before Edward spoke up again. "So you and Emmett went to a keg party last night? I didn't even know you liked beer."

"I don't. But Emmett had promised Felix to show. We weren't gonna stay long."

"Did you meet anyone interesting?" My head shot up in surprise. Had Emmett told him? But the look on Edward's face was curiosity only, and I relaxed. Then I started to panic. What should I tell him? A heavily edited version of last night, or just lie? I decided to lie.

"No, no one. What did you do last night?"

Edward shrugged. "Not much. Homework."

I raised my eyebrows. "Homework? You did homework on a Friday night?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I did. Everyone else was busy. I tried to convince Emmett to let me hang out with you, but threatened me with bodily harm if I disrupted his, and I quote, 'awesome night with Bella bear'. So, there you have it. By the way, how did the photo shoot with Tanya go?"

Photo shoot. Thursday. Edward and Irina. I tried to push those thoughts away; it hurt too much to think about them. "Good, it went good."

"I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that you didn't show up at Nefertiti. We were playing Miles Davis."

I gave a rueful smile. "I'm sorry I missed it. Maybe you could play some Miles next Thursday."

"For you, anything." The look in his eyes made me blush, and I looked down at my hands and the empty soup bowl. "It's time to open the calendar, don't you think."

"How many do we have to open?"

"Two. Yesterday's and today's." Edward opened two of the windows and handed me one of the chocolates. It had become slightly warm from the contact with Edward's hand, and it melted on my tongue instantly.

My phone chirped with a new text, and I smiled when I saw it was Rose.

_We've been shopping for five hours without a break. You are dead to me. _

I chuckled, and Edward asked what was so funny. I explained Rose's text, and he laughed. "My sister can be a bit…"

"Dictatorial?"

"I was going to say overzealous, but dictatorial works too. When we were younger and mom would take us to the store, Alice would cry as loudly she could when she didn't get what she wanted. I'd like to believe she's outgrown being a spoiled brat, but you never know with Alice." A lopsided grin appeared on his face, and I smiled back at him.

"I wish I could have known her as a child. It would have been…interesting."

"It certainly would have been. Hey, you'll never believe what happened after lunch on Thursday, it was the weirdest thing."

"What?" Although I had an idea of what it was he was about to say, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it.

"I was talking to Irina, and all of the sudden she kisses me!" he looked disgusted. "It was honestly one of the nastiest things I've ever experienced."

The inner me started to cheer, doing cartwheels and somersaults. I tried my best to conceal the huge smile that wanted to burst forward, but I probably wasn't all that successful. "I take it she's not your type?"

Edward let out a loud laugh and shook his head. "God no." He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "I prefer brunettes."

Oh my God.

My mouth opened and closed like I fish. I didn't know what to say. Then, I was saved by the bell. Or more, saved by a rather persistent knock on the door. Edward stood up and went to answer it, the look on his face making me believe he was irritated. On the other side of the door stood Emmett. He grinned goofily when he saw me.

"Hey Bells. How's it hanging?"

I giggled. "Hey Emmett. Not bad. How about you?"

He squirmed. "Uh, actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you. Alone."

Edward looked back at me. "I'll see you later."

I nodded. "Thank you for the soup and the company."

Emmett stepped aside to let Edward out, and then entered the room. He closed the door carefully and sat down on Alice's bed, looking down at his hands in his lap. For a man that was almost always happy and goofing around, he looked awfully serious.

"Hey Em, you okay?" I asked, and when he looked up I saw sadness in his eyes.

"How are you? Really. After last night…" he trailed off and shook his head, as if to rid himself of whatever thoughts he was having.

"I'm fine, Em. Honestly. I'm lucky you came when you did."

"Why did you start drinking with him?"

"I don't know. I was alone, didn't know anyone. He acted like he was actually interested in me. It was nice. He must have gradually upped the vodka in my drinks, because I didn't notice anything."

"It's all my fault."

"No, it's not! I didn't have to stay, but I did. Don't blame yourself, okay? If you do I'm gonna kick your ass."

Emmett gave a humourless laugh. "Like you could." Then he looked up at me and I saw the familiar sparkle in his eyes. "So, when are you going to tell Edward how you feel?"

I gaped. Him too? "Am I really that transparent?"

"You're practically see through. Seriously though, you need to do something about it."

"I know, and I'm going to. Soon. Hopefully. Maybe. You know, I might just tell when after I've graduated and moved to Aruba."

Emmett laughed and shook his head. "You're hopeless, Bella Swan."

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks to all the reviews and such. I'm still sick, and am starting to get a bit worried I won't be able to update everyday. I'm only on chapter 15, but I'll do my very hardest. It's safe to say that I wasn't expecting to get sick, and it threw my whole schedule off balance.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

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**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 12

_Su__nday, December 12__th_

"Close the door behind you," Tanya said, and I made sure it was both closed and locked. We were in one of the darkrooms, developing the photos Tanya had taken of me on Thursday.

"Do you usually use film rolls? I thought most photographers were going digital these days."

Tanya shrugged. "It depends, some kinds of pictures look better when taken with a digital camera, and vice versa."

"Oh, okay."

Tanya turned her back on me to start with the developing, so I didn't see her facial expression as she spoke. "Have you decided what to do about Edward?"

I sighed. "No. I really don't know how to tell him. I don't want to ruin anything."

"But it already is ruined." Tanya turned around to face me. "You can't act like you usually did around him because you have feelings for him, and I bet that he's noticed something's different with you. Guys may be dense, but not that dense."

"You think I should tell him?"

"Yes, and soon. Preferably today. You can't keep avoiding it, it won't help. So therefore I am officially kicking you out from my darkroom on the condition that you go straight up to Edward, tell him you love him and then kiss the hell out of him."

The serious look on her face made me chuckle, and I nodded. "I'm gonna do it. Wish me luck!"

"Break a leg," Tanya called after me as I quickly left the darkroom. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I tried to think of where Edward could be. As I walked back to the dorm I sent off a text.

_Hey, where are you? I need to talk to you._

I found Alice in the living-area, watching a re-run of Project Runway with a freshman named Bree.

"Hey Alice, do you know where Edward is?" I asked, sitting down next to her. She was so engrossed in the show that she didn't even look at me when she answered.

"He's visiting mom and dad. He should be back later tonight."

My heart sank. He would be gone all day? What was I going to do then? My mind was on Edward, I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I needed to do something that would ensure my mind was occupied. I knew just the thing.

"Hey Alice, do you wanna start on some Christmas shopping today?"

...

"What I don't understand, is why we need to drive all the way to Schaumburg. There are plenty of malls in Chicago, you know."

"Because there's a greater chance of finding something unique if we stay away from the shops closest to home." Alice explained as we exited the highway. "Plus, it'll kill time. We probably won't be back before Edward, so you can talk to him then."

"How did you know about that?" I asked, in shock.

"Please Bella, I know you. And I know that you saw Edward and Irina on Thursday. You completely underestimate me. So, who are you buying presents for?"

I was still a bit stunned by her insight, but decided to let it go. "Uh, I was thinking for the secret Santa game, Emmett, Rose and Jasper?"

Alice nodded, looking over her shoulder before pulling into the parking lot at Woodfield Mall. I'd never been there before, and as I looked up at the mall I was impressed by the size. I was also scared to death because if it was one thing I knew about Alice, it was that she could demolish a mall.

"Where do you wanna go first?" Alice asked as we went through the entrance, and I saw her eyes light up. I looked around the crowded mall, noticing Sears on my left and Forever 21 straight ahead.

"Uh, maybe we can start by eating? It's almost two, and I haven't had any lunch yet."

"We can't eat first! Then we'll be bloated and the clothes we buy won't fit right."

"Okay, first; I wasn't planning on buying or even trying on any clothes. Second; I haven't eaten since eight this morning, I need food."

Alice grumbled, but agreed. We went to the Cheesecake Factory, and I guess Alice was pretty hungry since she devoured her pasta within ten minutes. Her energy level seemed to go up even more after eating, and she dragged me into store after store. She forced me to try on a dozen dresses at Nordstrom and I hated all but two, but they were too expensive for me to buy. I went to put back the dresses I'd tried on, and when I joined Alice outside the store, she was carrying a Nordstrom bag in her hand.

"Alice!"

"It's a Christmas present! And I'm not telling you which one I bought, so you'll be surprised when you open the gift!"

"Fine, but you're not allowed to by me anymore presents, okay!"

After that, the hours seemed to go by in a whirlwind. I found all the presents I wanted to. A 50 dollar gift card at iTunes for Edward, the Secret Santa game; a book about the Civil War for Jasper, which I knew he wanted; a gift card at Victoria's Secret for Rose and tickets to go see Monty Python's Spamalot for Emmett. Alice bought a ton of gifts and also about two bags of clothes for herself. There had never been an occasion where we went shopping and she _didn't _buy anything for herself, whether or not it was a pair of shoes or new earrings.

It was dark outside and my feet were hurting like crazy when we finally piled into the car and started the journey back to campus. I took out my phone from my purse and saw I had a new text from Edward, sent almost three hours ago.

_I'm at mom and dad's house but I should be back around 8. Everything okay? You sounded serious. _

I looked at the time. 9.17. He was probably already back. I was now happier than ever that Alice drove like a maniac.

"So, should I expect to have the room to myself tonight?" She smirked, and I chuckled.

"No, Alice. Even if he by some miracle feels the same way about me, it's too early for that."

"Whatever floats your boat,"

By the time we had reached the dorm, I was more nervous than I'd probably ever been in my entire life. Alice grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly as we waited for the elevator, and I squeezed back. It felt like it took hours to get up to our floor, but when we finally walked out of the elevator it was too soon. I stopped, and turned to Alice.

"I can't do this!" I gasped.

"Yes, you can. Now go in there and talk to him." Alice took my bags from my hands and pushed me in the direction of Edward's door. "I'll see you later." She went down the hallway, and I waited until I heard her enter our room before staring at the door in front of me.

I took a deep breath, and raised my hand to knock three times rapidly, the sound of my knuckles against the wood echoing in my ears. Edward opened the door, and he grinned when he saw me, the lopsided grin where the left corner of his mouth rose higher than the right.

"Bella, hi!"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," Edward stepped aside, and I entered. His room looked the same as it did the last time I was in there, and I walked over to the couch. "Is everything okay? Your text sounded pretty serious."

"Everything's fine," I tried to convince him, but I probably failed. In my head I went over the million different ways I could start this conversation, and with each passing second I grew more and more scared.

"You sure? You look pretty nervous." Edward was leaning against the closed door, and there was a strand of hair that kept falling over his forehead, and I suddenly had the urge to push it back from his face.

I didn't have the guts to look directly at him, so I started pacing back and forwards, my eyes on my shoes. "I'm really bad with words, which is kind of a laugh since I'm an English major, and I don't really know how to say this because, as I said, I'm really bad with words so I'm just gonna try to spit it out." I stopped and looked up at him, and seeing the confusion on his face was the final thing that made me find the courage to say what I had to say. "I like you. More than like you. I have been in love with you since this summer, and I've tried to find the courage to tell you but I've been too scared. Up until now. I don't expect you to feel anything for me in return, but I thought you should know."

The room became silent. So silent I could hear the faint noises from the TV in the living area, the sound of people walking and laughing in the hallway, and the buzz from the air conditioning. Edward's face read of shock. His eyes were large, and his mouth was open in shock.

I wanted him to say something. I _needed_ him to say something. Anything. Not just stand there and look at me like I was crazy. He closed his mouth, his right hand came up to run through his hair, and he wet his lips. I saw him take in a deep breath. This was it. He was going to tell me he didn't feel anything for me, and our easy going friendship would be ruined. If only he wasn't blocking my only escape route! Unless you count me jumping out through the window, but that was a tad too dramatic.

"Please say something," my voice was meek, and I felt the need to raise my arms and hug my midsection. A protection from the harsh words that was sure to come.

It took what seemed like a fraction of a second, and then suddenly Edward was in front of me. Close enough so I could hear the sound of his rapid breathing, close enough that I could see the outline of his muscles underneath the threadbare t-shirt he was wearing. Then he reached out and grasped my hands in his, pulling them away from my waist. He grasped my hands tightly in his own, and pulled me to him so that our bodies were almost touching. I could feel the heat from his body, and I tipped my head back so I could look at him.

"I don't remember when I realized I was in love with you, but it was a long time ago. I have been trying so hard to show you with my actions how I feel, but obviously I was too subtle." His grin this time was large, and I felt a similar one come on to my face.

"Are you serious?"

He nodded. "As a heart attack."

"What do we do now?"

"Can I have your phone?"

I frowned. What did he want with my phone? Deciding not to question him I reluctantly let go of his hand to take out my phone from my pocket. I saw Edward turn it off before throwing it on the couch and wrapping his free arm around my waist, pulling me so close that our bodies were pressed together.

"No interruptions." He said before lowering his head and pressing his lips against mine. My eyes fell shut involuntarily, and a shiver went up my spine. His grip around my waist tightened and my hand reached out to his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heartbeat as I fisted my hand in his shirt. His lips were soft against mine and I pressed myself harder against him.

A moan opened my mouth to him, and I sighed in pleasure when I felt his tongue enter my mouth. The second his tongue caressed mine I was glad he was holding me up, because my knees buckled. Our joined hands parted, and while mine went up to grab his hair his cupped my neck, his thumb stroking small circles on my overheated skin. Over and over our tongues met, and I started to feel a throbbing between my legs. If I had my way we would keep on kissing for hours, but it wasn't too long before Edward moved back, placing a soft kiss on my lips before pulling away.

I felt out of breath, and I saw Edward's chest rising and falling as rapidly as mine. "That was…" I searched for the right word, but Edward beat me to it.

"Perfect." He leaned in and planted another gentle kiss on my lips, but pulled back before I could deepen in. "I'm glad you decided to tell me tonight."

"I nearly chickened out," I confessed. "I was so scared."

Edward chuckled and caressed my face. "Why? You must have known how I felt. I thought I was making it obvious, I could feel it in my face every time I looked at you. And when we were at Sliver last weekend…"

"That was some good times," I smiled. "And I hope there'll be many occasions like that in the future."

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: You guys are truly awesome! Huge thanks to everyone, and I hope y'all continue to review like you did last chapter :) Outfit's on my profile.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 13

_Mo__nday, December 13__th_

To say I didn't make an extra effort to look nice would be a complete lie. Now that things had finally worked out with Edward, I wanted to look the very best I could for him. That's why I allowed Alice to add some curls to my hair, and dust a little brown eyeshadow across my lids. I slipped on a lavender short sleeved shirt underneath a purple cardigan, and wore my favourite jeans that I knew made my ass look great.

Edward and I had stayed curled up on his couch for more than two hours last night, talking and kissing. Only after my yawning became so frequent it was hard to keep kissing did I admit that I was pretty tired and should be heading off to bed. We'd barely been apart for nine hours, but I was already missing him so much my stomach hurt.

"Gosh Bella, you're worse than I am," Alice teased when we walked down to eat breakfast. "You're gonna see him in like 10 minutes, so chill out."

"Knock it off."

We would be meeting Edward at the dining hall; he went jogging every Monday before breakfast. Why only on Mondays, I had no idea. The dining hall was pretty full, a lot of people had early class on Mondays. We always made sure to eat together the whole gang on Mondays, since it was the only day all six of us had early class. I saw Emmett sitting by a table, a huge amount of food in front of him, and I spotted both Jasper and Rose in the line. Alice jumped ahead of me, giving Jasper a kiss before coming back to stand next to me.

"We need to go shopping tomorrow." She stated, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Alice! We went yesterday! Why do we need to go tomorrow _again_?" I grabbed a bottle of orange juice, making sure I got the one with pulp. I hated smooth orange juice.

"Because now that you have a boyfriend, we need to go shopping for cute lingerie. Also, you need to buy him a Christmas present. Why not do both at the same time? Also, could you ask for a better shopping partner than me?"

"I'll go with you, but only if we ask Rose as well." I needed to have some veto power on my side. I loaded my plate with waffles and grabbed an orange before making my way over to the table where the rest of the gang, minus my boyfriend, were sitting. Huh. It felt weird, calling Edward my boyfriend.

"What's with the smile?" Jasper asked as I sat down, but I only shook my head at him. I felt the tingle up my spine that was my Edward alert, and my heart beat an extra stroke when I spotted him by the door. He was dressed in black jeans and a blue long sleeved t-shirt underneath his jacket. His hair stood in all directions, and it was evident it was still damp from his shower. The moment his eyes met mine in the crowd the most beautiful smile lit up on his face, and he walked with determination towards us. I resisted the urge to jump him, and instead my knee started bouncing, as an outlet for the energy surging through my body.

"Hey," Edward said when he reached the table. He sounded out of breath, but his lopsided grin was large.

"Hi," I breathed, and my smile matched his. Eyes locked with mine, Edward braced his hands on the table before leaning down and pressing his lips against mine. His skin was cold, but warmed up quickly underneath my lips. When I pulled back I noticed the table had gone eerily silent. Emmett was gaping, his fork on his way up to his mouth but dangling in the air; Rose looked equally surprised, but took another bite from her bagel; Jasper didn't look very surprised at all, and Alice was bouncing in her seat.

"I'll be right back," Edward smiled, reached up to stroke my cheek, and then went to get his food.

"What the fuck, Bells? When did this happen?" Emmett asked, lowering his fork to his plate.

"Last night," I blushed.

"Way to go Bella," Rose praised, and I couldn't help the smile on my face.

* * *

"Bella, why haven't you called in so long? It's been almost a month!"

I sighed, running my hand through my hair as I curled my side into Edward's body even further. "I'm sorry, but the phone works two ways, you know. You could have called me."

She huffed, and I heard the sound of traffic in the background. "I don't know your schedule, honey, and I know you wouldn't want me to call while you were in class."

"Yeah, I know. Are you and Phil home over Christmas? I was thinking about flying down to see you."

"Oh honey, didn't I tell you? Phil is taking me to Paris. Can you believe it? Paris!"

A knot formed in my stomach. I hadn't seen her since this summer, and I missed her. "Oh, okay. I hope you have fun."

"Don't be sad, baby. I'll buy you some cute French clothes, okay?"

"Sounds great mom, really." I sounded fake, even to my own ears, and Edward planted a lingering kiss on my temple. "Listen, I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon."

"Sure. Love you sweetie."

"Love you too." I hung up and resisted the urge to throw my phone against the wall. Instead I groaned and buried my face in Edward's neck. He hadn't shaved today, and the small scruff felt coarse against my skin.

"Everything okay?"

I shook my head. "She'll be in Paris." I spoke into his neck. "I haven't seen Renée in almost six months, and she's not going to be home for Christmas."

"I'm sorry, love."

I sighed again and straightened up, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "I think I'm gonna call my dad right away, make sure I'll have somewhere to spend Christmas. It shouldn't be a problem though, Charlie hasn't travelled in years."

That however, was _not_ the case. "You're going to Alaska?"

I was met by silence, and I could imagine Charlie sitting in the kitchen, looking ashamed. "Yeah, we're going up to visit Sue's family. I thought I'd told you."

"No you hadn't."

"Aren't you spending Christmas with Renée?"

"No I'm not, because she and Phil are going to Paris."

"Bells, I'm sorry, I didn't know. You know what, I'll tell Sue I can't go, she'll understand."

"No Charlie, don't. This is your first Christmas together, you can't bail on her."

"But-"

"I'll be fine here, Charlie. I promise."

He grumbled, but I could tell I'd won him over. "Alright then."

We hung up a few minutes later, and I felt more dejected than ever. Neither one of my parents would be able to spend Christmas with me. I felt tears form in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I didn't want Edward to have to deal with me when I was like this.

"Are you okay?" his voice sounded, and I nodded.

"Yeah," I cleared my throat and blinked away before looking up at him. "Just have nowhere to spend Christmas."

"Yes you have." I looked confused at him. "You don't really think that I'd let my girlfriend be alone for Christmas, do you?"

My heart soared. I didn't know what to say, so instead I leaned in and pressed my lips against his. Edward responded immediately, wrapping his arm around me and using it to pull me further into his body. I breathed him in, our tongues meeting as I tightened the grip I had on his shirt. I brought up my legs between us and used the grip on his shirt to pull him with me as I laid back on the couch. It was really too small for this, and while my neck was laying very uncomfortably on the edge of the armrest, I couldn't find it in me to care. Not when Edward was on top of me, kissing me hard and running his hands up and down my sides. I parted my legs, and he sank down further on top of me. When our hips came into contact I groaned, and I threw my head back as much as I could. Edward kept kissing my skin, going down my jaw and down my neck. I moaned loudly, biting my lower lip to stifle the noise. My hips started moving up towards his, searching for friction I suddenly desperately needed. Edward groaned, and his hips started meeting mine. I was about to pull his mouth up to mine again so I could kiss him when there was a clicking sound, and the room went pitch black.

I froze, and so did Edward. I tried to look at his face, but couldn't see anything. "What happened?" I asked, slightly out of breath.

"I don't know," Edward answered, sounding frustrated. "Let me go check."

My body felt cold and empty as he stood and went over to the window. I followed him, but only after hitting my shin on his desk. Twice. I felt his hand grasp mine, and he pulled me into his side as we looked out his window. Everything was jet black; the only sign of light was from the stars and the moon.

"It looks like the entire campus is without power," I said, feeling a slightly eerie feeling come over me. I wasn't scared of the dark per se, but I still didn't like it very much.

"Wait here." Edward let go of my hand and stepped carefully towards the closet. I heard him rummage through it, and then the sound of something being put down on the desk reached my ears. There was the sound of a match being struck and then the room bathed in soft candlelight. I looked back at Edward, and nearly had a heart attack.

I'd seen Edward in many different situations, lightings and places. But candlelight was new and quickly becoming my favourite. The soft orange light cast dramatic shadows across his face, highlighting the sharpness of his jaw and cheekbones.

He sat down on the couch again, patting the spot next to him. "Come sit with me."

I didn't hesitate for a second, and sighed in content when I fitted my body against his side. I snuggled in close, my cheek against his shoulder and my arm slung across his stomach. I felt the steady rise and fall of his breathing, and I hugged him a bit tighter to me.

"What do you wanna do tomorrow?" Edward asked after a moment in silence.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully, my eyes finding the blazing numbers on the DVD, announcing it was 7:48PM. "Rose, Alice and I are going shopping for Christmas presents in the afternoon, but other than that I'm free." I looked up at him, and melted at the sight of the smile on his face.

"I love you Bella, so much," he said, his voice serious.

My heart soared when I heard those three words. "I love you too. I'm glad I got the courage to tell you how I felt. I don't know how I would have survived the year without telling you."

Edward chuckled. "You wouldn't have had to wait too long; I was about one interrupted kiss from confessing my undying love to you and ravishing you."

I laughed, though my cheeks were flushed. "Ravishing me?"

"Thoroughly and repeatedly."

Again, I blushed. Sex with Edward sounded…pretty scary, actually. I started feeling panic in my stomach. Was Edward expecting us to have sex right away? I knew he'd had sex, a lot, and I was fairly intimidated by that. But then again. He loved me, and I loved him. I knew he could be patient, he had definitely shown that so far.

"I might hold you to that," I said, and felt a strange feeling come over me.

Sex with Edward…it might not be so scary after all.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know. **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Okay, so here's the part where I start to get stressed out. I'm not done with chapter 15 yet, and though I have each chapter mapped out, it's gonna be stressful. I know that I need at least two or three days to write a chapter, and now I have like one. So, one stressed writer with a side dish of heart attack coming up. I don't really know what time it is for my readers, but I usually post chapters around 10 - 11 am, my time, and right now it's 5 pm, so chapters are probably going to come out a bit later in the day than normally. Enough of my nervous ranting, hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 14

_Tuesday, December 14__th_

"Isabella Marie Swan, what is that?"

Rose pointed towards my neck, and I slapped my hand over the skin before stretching to look in the rearview mirror. I removed my hand and stared at my neck. A large, red mark sat where my neck met my shoulder, and I blushed. I hadn't noticed Edward spending a particularly long time there. But then again, I did have trouble focusing on things when Edward's mouth was anywhere on my body. I blushed as I remembered the previous night, and turned from the mirror.

Alice gasped mockingly. "You slut!" She grinned though, and I couldn't help but to chuckle. I was a bit embarrassed though. I shouldn't be; God knew I'd seen both Rose and Alice with a lot of hickeys in various places. But it was different this time, because it was me. And I felt weird, and strangely proud, that Edward had marked me. I couldn't wait until I got the opportunity to mark him too.

"Okay, calm down ladies. Who are you buying presents for today?"

"I'm only here for moral support. I got my shopping done like weeks ago." Rose stated, reaching up between me and Alice to turn the heat up. "It's fucking freezing in here!"

"I'm just buying for mom and dad; I have everything else in order. What about you Bella?"

"I still need to buy a present for you, and for Carlisle and Esme. Also, since my social status has recently changed, I need to buy something girlfriendy to Edward."

"Lingerie, Bella, lingerie. That's all you need."

"I'll still buy some," I blushed, again. "But I want to buy something else as well. Something that will let him know that I love him."

"Lingerie," Rose and Alice said in unison, and then started laughing.

"Be serious!"

"Okay, okay." Alice stifled her laughter and took some deep breaths, probably to keep herself from laughing. "What are you buying mom and dad?"

"I was thinking of buying them tickets to go and see Bill Cosby. It's not until March, though."

"That's awesome! Dad loves Bill Cosby."

We didn't drive all the way to Schaumburg this time; instead we went to a mall closer by. There weren't as many stores, but none of us minded. I wanted to do all my shopping fast so I could get back to Edward, but Alice insisted on going into every store at the mall, even the sports store just in case she saw something that popped out at her. Her words, not mine.

I managed to get Rose to occupy Alice while I went over to a jewellery store and bought Alice's present; a pair of silver earrings. She would also get five coupons of veto free dress up occasions that she could cash in anytime. I knew I would probably regret it when the time came, but I knew it would make her happy.

I met up with them again at Victoria's Secret, and I didn't realize my mistake until it was too late. Alice, armed with an armful of lacy underwear, grabbed my hand and pushed me into a dressing room. I rolled my eyes. Of course I'd get ambushed.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, you know as well as I do that you need new lingerie. Do you _want_ my brother to see you in your old non-matching underwear?"

"I think the real question is why are you so persistent in buying sexy underwear your _brother_ is going to see?"

"That's not the point!" I could just imagine her standing outside, tapping her little foot and rolling her eyes. "Sexy lingerie will improve your confidence, and will make things easier with Edward. Besides, all guys love their girlfriends in sexy lingerie."

"Alice!"

"Just try it on, Bella!"

I sighed, but started undressing. I didn't even try on the more risqué looking things; I stuck to the normal underwear sets along with a pale blue silk babydoll that was too adorable to pass up on. As I was trying on a black lace set, my phone chirped with a new text. It was from Edward, and I couldn't help the large smile on my face.

_I'm bored. What are you doing? Love you, Edward_

Feeling rather empowered, standing there half naked and clad only in lace, I snapped a picture of myself. The photo didn't show much, just one of my collarbones, a hint of cleavage, and of course the black bra strap. Smiling, I sent the picture to Edward with the message;

_Just trying on some things__. Love you too and I miss you._

I didn't get a reply until I was standing by the cashier, paying for the black set and a similar one in red.

_You're killing me, Bella. Love you. P.S. I wouldn't mind se__eing the rest of that outfit._

I blushed scarlet, though excitement coursed through me. Rose gave me a strange look, but was distracted by Alice's insistence that we go and get coffee. I agreed and within minutes we were sitting in a cozy café. Alice and Rose both had lattes in front of them while I had a hot chocolate with whipped cream.

"When are you and Edward going to have sex?" Rose suddenly asked, and I nearly sprayed hot chocolate through my nose.

"Rose!" Both Alice and I exclaimed.

"That's my brother!" Alice shuddered.

"So?"

"So? Do you want me to talk about Jasper like that? How much I love that thing he does with his tongue and how large his cock is?"

By now Rose had clasped her hands over her ears and was singing Adam Lambert as loudly as she could. I rolled my eyes and left them to settle this in their own way while I went to grab a couple of napkins. When I came back they were talking about Christmas instead.

"I'm pretty bummed I'm not going to be able to spent Christmas with Emmett," Rose sighed. "But at least we'll have New Year's."

"What are we even doing on New Year's?" I asked, slightly wary. You never knew what Alice was cooking up.

"Mom and dad are going to my aunt and uncle in Milwaukee so we'll have the house to ourselves. I was thinking about inviting some people; have a party."

"That party is going to be epic!" Rose said confidently, and Alice agreed.

I chuckled. "Let's just make sure that the house will still be in one piece after the party is finished, okay?"

...

"Oh God!" I threw my head back, my back arching. Edward's lips were fastened on my neck and my whole body was shuddering in pleasure. I gripped his back tighter, finger clawing at his bare skin. His shirt had been tossed off some time ago, and mine had followed his. I felt Edward's nimble fingers slid up from my hips and around to my back, settling on the hooks of my bra.

"Is this okay?" he mumbled against my skin, and I nodded vehemently.

"Yes!" I moaned, and within seconds my bra was tossed on the floor. I shifted closer to him, my legs spreading more as I straddled him.

Edward's lips left my neck and he pulled back to look at me. I blushed, feeling the heat spread down to my exposed chest. Slowly, so slowly I thought I might go insane, he raised his hand and placed it at my left breast. I moaned, feeling my nipple pucker beneath his fingers. His other hand grabbed my hips and pulled me closer, placing me right above his rock hard erection. I moaned, my hips flexing against his. He let out a growl, and then he removed his hand from my breast only to replace it with his mouth. I bit my lip so hard I thought I might break the skin, but even that couldn't stifle the groan leaving my mouth. When he sucked my nipple into his mouth I felt it all the way down between my legs. I started rocking faster, pushing down harder on him, and he answered by pushing his hips up to meet mine. I felt Edward's hands go down to the waistband of my jeans, pushing his fingers beneath the fabric slightly.

"Edward, wait!" My hands went down to cover his, stopping him.

Edward pulled back, and looked up at me with concern on his face. "Are we going to fast?"

I blushed, realizing I was sitting topless astride my boyfriend in broad daylight. "It's just…" Gods, this was embarrassing. "I'monmyperiod."

"Oh. Oh!" Edward's cheeks actually went a bit red.

"Yeah." I sat back and pushed my hair behind my ear. "It'll be over by Sunday." I blushed again as Edward's eyes met mine. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Great, I'd rendered him speechless. I guessed I had to clarify things a bit. Maybe having this conversation while I was sitting topless astride him wasn't the best thing, given his lack of concentration skills. "I want us to make love. Soon."

Edward gulped, and then seemed to find his voice. "Are you sure?"

I nodded, smiling down at him as I raised my hand to stroke his cheek. "Positively. I love you, and I want to share every experience with you."

"Are you," he paused, his fingers stroking small circles on my back as he searched for the right words. "Are you a virgin?"

I shook my head. "No." At Edward's raised eyebrow I chuckled. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"No, it's just…I thought you hadn't met someone here, that's all."

I giggled. "Edward Anthony Cullen, are you jealous? You totally are! Aw babe, there's no need to be. I've had sex once, at Prom night, in the back of my date's car. Very original, huh? It wasn't the greatest experience, but it's not like you could do worse."

Edward chuckled. "True. So, oh great one, do you have a specific date in mind, or can I offer a suggestion?"

"Suggest all you want,"

"Next Tuesday my parents are going to a function for dad's hospital. They'll be gone until Wednesday. I don't want our first time to be in a dorm room."

"Sounds good to me."

Edward smirked and let his hands glide up to my breasts again. "You still wanna continue?" He grasped my nipples between his thumbs and forefingers and pinched them lightly, causing me to moan and arch my back into his touch.

"Yes!" My hips started moving against his again, and he replaced one of his hands with his mouth before he pulled me closer. I ran my fingers down his chest, nails scratching against his warm skin, and he shuddered. I started moving faster, pressing down harder on him, hands tangling in his hair and pressing him closer to me. The seam of his jeans was hitting me just right, and I started to feel the tight coil in my stomach. "Kiss me," I moaned, pulling him up to my mouth by the grip I had on his hair. We kissed hard, passionately and yet so loving my heart grew with love. My breasts pressed against his bare chest added to the tightening coil in my stomach, and knew I was nearly there.

Then Edward's mouth left mine and travelled down to my neck, where he sucked the skin into his mouth hard and then bit down lightly. That was it, and my whole body shuddered as I came. I collapsed against him, panting but with a smile on my face. That was amazing! I realized then that Edward hadn't come yet, but was panting and moving his hips up against mine urgently. I continued to move against him and lowered my mouth to his neck. The scruff felt prickly against my skin, but I didn't care as I nibbled on his skin. Edward's groaning became louder, his hips started losing their rhythm, and I knew he was close. I raised my lips to his ear and took the lobe into my mouth, sucking it hard.

The sound Edward made sent shivers down my spine, and he grabbed my hips and held me down tightly against him as his hips pumped against mine. Then he went still, his forehead against my neck as he panted. He placed a lingering kiss on my collarbone and then pulled back to look up at me.

"You okay?" his cheeks were red, green eyes gleaming in the light and the lopsided grin on his face. If possible I fell even more in love with him.

"I'm amazing. So are you." I leaned down and kissed him tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you too."

We sat in total bliss for a while, but then I started to freeze, and Edward needed to change his pants so we decided to move. I didn't want to, though, and returned to his embrace as soon as I could.

"Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?" Edward asked and I looked up at him.

"Sure. Can we see Harry Potter?" I had been dying to see it, but hadn't had the chance to.

Edward laughed and nodded. "Of course."

I smiled. "It's a date!"

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: You are all awesome. Really really awesome. If I could, I'd bake you all cupcakes. Outfit's on my profile, and there are some spoilers in here for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1, so if you haven't seen that move take caution.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 15

_Wednesday, December 15__th_

"Alice, no!"

"Come on, Bella! Please?"

I shook my head, still rifling through my closet. "We're only going to the movies, Alice. It's not exactly fancy."

"It doesn't matter where you're going – it's a date, and therefore you need to dress up. The fact that it's your _first_ date only strengthens my case."

I turned around to face Alice, who sat on her bed reading the latest issue of Elle magazine. "What do you have in mind?"

She jumped off from the bed, flinging her magazine behind her as she went to my closet. "I hope you know that dressing up doesn't always have to be pumps and a cocktail dress? I can do different levels."

"Uhuh. Why do I find that so hard to believe?"

"Here, try this. It's casual, yet cute." She handed me a white cable knit sweater. "You can wear the same jeans as you are now; they make your ass look great."

"They do, don't they?" I changed into a clean white tank top before pulling the sweater over my head, rolling up the sleeves.

"True. Now come here and let me do your hair and make up real quick so you can leave,"

To my surprise, when she said quick she actually meant it. When there was a knock on the door ten minutes later I was finished. Alice hadn't done a lot of make up since it was suppose to snow later, my hair was in a loose side braid and I had my trusty yellow beret on my head. I could hardly contain myself as I opened the door and barely gave Edward a chance to say hello before throwing myself in his arms.

Edward laughed, fisting his hands into my jacket. "I'm guessing you're happy to see me,"

I leaned back and nodded. "I'm always happy to see you."

His grin was infectious. "I'll remember that." He placed a short kiss on my awaiting lips, and then looked over my shoulder. "Is she good to go?"

"Yep. Have fun." Alice said, a teasing tone to her words.

"I'll see you later." I turned back and smiled at her before grabbing Edward's hand and making our way down the hallway.

"Are we eating before or after the movie?"

"I was thinking after. We need to have some room for the popcorns." I smiled up at him, and Edward nodded.

"You can't go to the movies without eating popcorn."

I tucked myself in under Edward's arm, where I felt safe, and we starting going downstairs. It was a little tricky, but not so tricky I was ready to give up my hold on him. Between the second and first floor we ran into Tanya, and the smile she gave us was bright.

"Hey guys! Are you going out?"

"Yeah, we're going to see a movie," Edward answered, pressing a kiss to my temple.

"Great! So, which one of you caved first?" I blushed and raised my hand. Tanya chuckled. "Way to go, Bella. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Mmh. Bye!" I stepped aside so she could pass, and then we continued downstairs.

"You've been talking to Tanya about me?" Edward asked as we crossed the street towards the parking lot. I burrowed in closer to his side; the wind was chilling and it was starting to snow.

"A bit. I was really stressed out on Thursday after I saw you and Irina, and when Tanya asked if I was okay I sort of snapped."

Edward stopped and pressed me up against the side of his Volvo, hands on my waist and his forehead leaning against mine. "You believed me when I said I didn't kiss her back, right?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Good. I didn't even know you had seen it until Alice came up to me and started hitting me, calling me an asshole. I had no idea what she was talking about, so she filled me in. I would have told you sooner, but I kind of got the feeling you were avoiding me."

"I was. I was terrified of seeing you after that; I thought I was going to break down in tears or something like that." The knowledge that I was keeping the incident with James from him weighed heavily on my mind, and I decided that I needed to tell him about it. It was wrong of me to ask Emmett to not tell anyone. "But now everything's worked out." I leaned up and kissed him softly, but pulled back before either one of us could deepen it. We did have somewhere to be. Edward backed away from me and unlocked the car. When he opened the door for me I smiled and giggled. "Thank you kind sir."

We listened to an oldies station on our way into the city, and I sat quietly listened to Edward sing along with a smile on my face. It wasn't exactly crowded at the movie theater, but it didn't surprise me. It was a Wednesday, not the most popular day to go see a movie.

The woman behind the ticket counter was reading a magazine and looking bored when we went approached, but when she looked up and saw us, or more like Edward, she immediately straightened up and slapped a bright smile on her face.

"How may I help you?"

"Hi, can we have two tickets to Harry Potter, please?" Edward said politely and reached for his wallet.

"That'll be 28 dollars, please."

I held my tongue as Edward paid for both our tickets, but had my wallet ready as soon as we stepped away. "You're not paying for my ticket, Edward. Please let me pay."

Edward shook his head and grinned, making my heard melt. "You're not paying for anything tonight. This is a date, Bella, our first date as a matter of fact, and it's customary for the guy to pay on the first date."

"But-" I pouted and Edward stepped in close and captured my bottom lip between his, sucking on it gently. I moaned, closing my eyes and angling my head to reach him better. I pulled away pretty quickly, remembering we were in public. "I'll let it slide this time, but you're going to have to let me pay eventually,"

"We'll see."

We bought a large popcorn bag and a coke to share before making our way into the auditorium. I looked around for the best seats, but Edward pulled me towards the back. I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Edward, we can't sit in the back!"

"Why not?" He sounded like he really didn't get it, and it was so adorable.

"Because I really want to see this movie, and sitting alone in the back with you is not a guarantee that I'll be able to watch it."

A sexy smirk covered his lips. "Can't keep your hands off me, huh?"

I snorted. "More like you can't keep your hands off me. Come, let's sit further down."

We found two available seats in the middle row, and As soon as we had sat down I pulled up the armrest between us and snuggled up against Edward's side. I rested my hand on Edward's thigh, feeling his hard muscle and warm skin under my fingers. The lights dimmed, and suddenly I realized that going to the movies with Edward maybe wasn't the best idea. The energy crackled between us, and I was aware of every little move he made. The previews started, but all the colours were in a blur due to the circles Edward was tracing with his finger on my stomach. I tilted my head up in the crook of his neck and breathed in deeply, loving the musky smell of his cologne and his natural scent.

Then I lifted my head more and found his mouth pretty easily in the darkness. His lips were warm and soft and he tasted faintly of popcorn and coke. I moaned quietly when our tongues met and twisted my body slightly to ease the strain in my neck. Edward groaned, and his hand came up to cup my face. I was getting carried away quickly, and placed another soft kiss to his lips before pulling away.

"They'll be more of that later. I don't want to miss the movie." I whispered, and I saw the outline of a smile on his face.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

When we walked out of the auditorium two and a half hours later I was wiping away the tears at the corners of my eyes while Edward chuckled at me.

"Shut up!" I playfully hit his arm and he grabbed it before I could pull back and grasped my hand in his, entwining our fingers.

"I think it's cute. You're such a girl."

"How you can _not _cry or even show emotion when Dobby gets stabbed to death is beyond my understanding." I let go off his hand to put on my jacket and zip it up. Taking out my beret from one of my pockets I pulled it onto my head and made sure my braid wasn't tangled up.

"It's not that I didn't feel anything, it's just not something to cry over." Edward shrugged and grabbed my hand again, lacing our fingers together like he normally did. "I can't wait until the second part though – it's the best part of the book as well."

"Mmh," I agreed, dodging the people around us as we walked outside. It seemed like the temperature had dropped significantly the time we were in the movie theatre, and a chill went through my body. "Can we find a place to eat close by? It's freezing."

Edward took one look at my shivering self and found the closest pizza place within two minutes. The intense heat of the pizzeria which was called Playa according to the neon sign out front hit against my cold face when we walked in, and I could practically feel how red my face was from the cold.

The place was practically empty; the only customers we saw were a few college kids and a couple in their 40's. One of the college kids was a blonde girl that seemed strangely familiar to me. When she turned her head and looked at us I found out why. It was Heidi, Edward's ex girlfriend. She looked surprised to see us, and I quickly looked up at Edward to gauge his reaction. I felt relieved when I saw he didn't look much different, albeit a bit surprised. Heidi raised her hand and waved, and I gave her a small wave back.

"Why don't you get a table and I'll order for us?" Edward suggested, and I agreed. He placed a warm kiss on my temple before walking past me to buy our pizzas.

I deliberately sat down pretty far from Heidi and made sure I didn't look at her as I removed my hat and jacket. This felt weird. Maybe somewhere in my mind I'd known that I'd run into her eventually, but I didn't think it'd be so soon. I didn't really have anything against her; she was a sweet girl who'd never been anything but friendly to me. But she'd dated Edward for two years. That's a long time. I glanced in her direction, and saw that she and the group she was with were leaving. Our eyes met, and she gave slight nod before turning away and walking out.

"I ordered you a pepperoni pizza, I hope that's okay?" Edward's voice broke my staring and I turned to look at him.

I smiled, nodding. "Sounds great; I'm starving."

Edward sat down and put down a can of coke in front of me; our pizzas would be out soon. I reached out and grasped his hand on the table, running my fingers over his soft skin. "How are you liking our first date so far?"

"It's wonderfully," I replied. "I like hanging out in your room too, but its fun going out."

"Doesn't it feel like we've been together forever?" He said with a laugh and I couldn't help but to agree.

"I know! It's been four days, but it feels like months."

He squeezed my hand a little tighter. "Soul mates."

I blushed, and a warmth spread through my stomach that had nothing to do with the fact that we were indoors. "Soul mates."

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Don't have much to say other than I hope I don't break my once a day posting schedule. That would suck and I'm really hating on myself at the moment. Outfit's on my profile, hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 16

_Thursday, December 16__th_

Sleep had been futile for me last night, despite the very thrilling and satisfying make out session Edward and I had before we parted ways. I'd had bad dreams, dreams where Edward found out about James, calling me a whore and saying that he never wanted anything to do with me again.

I was overreacting, I knew it, but I couldn't help it. I decided at breakfast that I needed to tell him about it today, or else I'd only analyze it more and more until I went crazy. So I texted Edward and asked to meet him in his room after classes. Alice noticed in our class together that I was nervous about something, and she gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"He won't think any less of you."

"You know?"

She nodded, and a sad look passed over her face. "Emmett told me. Don't be mad at him, he only did what he thought was best. I am a bit hurt that you didn't think you could trust me with this though. I thought we told each other everything."

Tears burnt in the corners of my eyes but I blinked them away. "I'm sorry Alice, I really am. I just felt so ashamed; I didn't want you to pity me.

"I wouldn't pity you. Please promise you'll not keep things like this from me in the future?"

I nodded. "I promise. I hope your brother will be as chill about this as you are."

Alice snorted. "Please. He's the king of overreacting. This is going to be big. Just try to stay calm when you talk to him, and if he gets too overbearing just send him in to me and I'll kick his ass for you."

I stifled a laugh, but obviously not discreetly enough because the teacher gave me looked at me with a stern look. I quickly looked down at my notebook again, pretending to take notes of what the teacher was saying.

Alice helped me stay grounded for the rest of the class and on the way over to our dorm. I knew Edward was already in his room, having finished his last class like half an hour ago. Nerves I thought I'd gotten rid of when I told Edward I loved him sat in my stomach when I knocked on his door.

There was a bright smile on his face when he opened, but it faded as he saw the look on my face. "What's wrong?"

"I've got to tell you something." My stomach hurt with nerves, and every step was painful as I walked in and sat down on the couch.

Edward crouched down in front of me, laying his hands on my knees and stroking them in a comforting matter. "You can tell me everything."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened my eyes again. "I lied to you about the party Emmett and I went to. I did meet someone." Edward's eyes darkened and I could tell he thought the worst so I hurried to continue my story. "His name was James and he offered to fix me a drink since I'm clueless when it comes to alcohol. I know you're not supposed to accept drinks from strangers, but I was watching the whole time he did the drinks. He must have drugged me or something because I started feeling very dizzy and nauseous. He took me into a bedroom and started to kiss me." A chill went through me as I thought back of the events of that night. "He tried to get my pants off but couldn't, and then Emmett knocked him out." Edward was silent, and I raised my eyes from his hands on my knees to look at him. "Please say something." My voice was no more than a whisper, but it seemed to draw Edward out.

"I don't really know what to say. I thought you were smarter than that, Bella."

A lone tear ran down my cheek and I raised my hand to brush it away. This was not the reaction I'd expected. That he'd get mad, yes. But this slight disappointing tone? It hit me worse than if he'd shouted. "I know. It was really stupid. But I was already upset about you and Irina, and he was there and acted like he was interested in me and it didn't occur to me in a million years that-" Edward silenced me by placing his hand over my mouth.

"Enough." His voice was soft. "You don't have to explain anything to me. I'm only glad that Emmett was there when I wasn't. If I'd only insisted to come with you, I could have prevented this."

"No! Don't blame yourself. It's certainly not your fault. I'm the one to blame, I should have been more aware of what exactly he mixed in the drink. But, it's over and done with now; Emmett kicked his ass, I'm fine, and that's that."

Edward sighed. "Please promise you that in the future you won't accept drinks from someone you don't know?" My hesitation to answer didn't have a lot to do with my disregard for his concerns, but it looked like he took it that way because his eyes became sad. "Just to ease my mind."

"Of course; I promise. I love you, Edward."

He leaned up and kissed me gently. "I love you too. If you feel like talking about this, or anything else, I'm always here for you."

"I know. That goes both ways, remember that." The kiss I gave him was too short for both our tastes, but we didn't really have enough time. I needed to grab dinner and get ready for jazz night, and he needed to head over to Nefertiti.

Rose came over to Alice and my dorm later to get ready, as was tradition. I was going for a little more dressed up look tonight, since I had my man to impress, and had let Alice put me in a pair of high heels. The red Mary Jane pumps provided a nice touch of colour to my black sheer tights and black velvet dress with long sleeves.

I eyed the shoes Alice would be wearing, my feet hurting just by looking at them even though I wouldn't be wearing them. "Can you actually walk in those? What are they, six inches high?"

"No, they're only five inches, and there's an inch and a half platform, so they're not really as high as they look." She pulled a turquoise sleeveless top over her head and then smoothed it down over her stomach. "Practice makes perfect,"

Rose hummed in agreement. The boots she was going to wear didn't look quite as scary as Alice's, but Rose was so tall she hardly needed five inch heels. Her black high waisted skirt and fuchsia top made her legs look as long as Alice was tall, which was an amusing thought.

"Don't you feel a bit weird that this is the last time we'll go to Nefertiti this year?" I brushed out my hair, wincing when the bristles caught with the tangles in my hair.

"It does. This year's almost over. I feel like it's gone by so fast."

"It feels like the last few years have gone by super fast," Alice's voice was melancholy. "We only have two years left with the entire gang in college before you all leave and it's just me and Bella left."

"Way to sound enthusiastic, Alice." I teased. "Could we go over a bit earlier than usual? I wanna have a chance to meet Edward before their gig."

"Ah, to be young and in love." Rose batted her eyelashes at me, and I threw my pillow at her. Well, more like tried to because my aim was so off it sailed right past her and down to the floor. "Your aim is terrible."

"Please guys?"

Half an hour later we walked through the doors of Nefertiti, which was considerably less crowded than it would be later on tonight. We'd decided to eat here, since Emmett couldn't go more than three hours without food and we didn't have a chance to eat before driving over.

I looked out over the club and saw Edward at a table with the rest of the band. Now that we were here, it suddenly didn't seem like a good idea. Edward's band mates, their respective girlfriends and the small music major gang that seemed to always be here on Thursdays were all older than me, and next to them I felt like a middle schooler.

I didn't have to guts to walk over to them, but I suppose that Alice saw the look on my face because walked straight up to their table and I saw her exchange a few words with them before coming back to us. I saw Edward turn his head in my direction, and the smile that broke out on his face was unmistakable.

Alice squeezed my shoulder as she walked past. "You're welcome."

Edward stood up from his seat and said something to Garrett before walking over to us. His eyes got brighter the closer he got, and I found myself standing up from my seat to go meet him.

"Hey babe. You look amazing." he grinned and wrapped his arms around me.

"Hi." I tipped my head up and kissed him. The moment his lips touched mine I melted, and I stepped in closer to press my lips harder against his. My mouth opened against his and I moaned when I felt his tongue in my mouth.

Loud catcalls and screams interrupted us, and I pulled away from him to bury my face in the crook of his neck. I was mortified, but Edward only chuckled before taking my hand and leading me towards where the rest of the group was sitting. We spent the rest of the time before the gig wrapped in each other, talking and having fun with our friends. It felt too soon when Edward stood up and announced they were playing in ten minutes.

"Good luck." I kissed him deeply before letting go and watching him walk through the door on the side of the stage. By now Nefertiti was as crowded as ever, and the atmosphere was great.

I sat as entranced as the E-minors entered the stage, and my smile grew impossibly large when Edward winked at me before introducing the band and starting to play. It was much later, at the end of their gig that Edward once again spoke up.

"Thank you all, thanks. Our next song is our last for the evening, and the last one for this year. Happy Christmas and a happy New Year and I'll see you all in 2011." The crowd cheered, and Edward laughed before continuing. "I would like to dedicate our last song to a very special person." His eyes met mine, and I actually think my heart stopped beating for a few seconds. "You know who you are." He counted in, and the band started playing a song I recognized so well my body soared. He'd remembered that this was my favourite jazz song.

Edward's velvety voice rang out through the club.

_Come away with me in the night  
Come away with me  
And I will write you a song_

Beside me, Alice grabbed my arm tightly and squealed. I paid her no mind. My eyes were fixed on Edward; sitting by the black piano and singing my favorite song. For me. If it was possible, I fell even more in love with him. 

_Come away with me on a bus  
Come away where they can't tempt us  
With their lies_

_And I want to walk with you  
On a cloudy day  
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high  
So won't you try to come?_

_Come away with me and we'll kiss  
On a mountaintop  
Come away with me  
And I'll never stop loving you  
_

A guy who I knew was named Matthew played guitar, and as he started on the solo I closed my eyes and let the music take me over. When Edward started singing again chills traveled up my spine.

_And I want to wake up with the rain  
Falling on a tin roof  
While I'm safe there in your arms  
So all I ask is for you  
To come away with me in the night  
Come away with me_

The song ended, and the sound from the crowd was deafening. Everybody was on their feet, and I was clapping my hands so hard it hurt. Edward stood up and took a bow before jumping off the stage and gathering me up in his arms.

"I love you so much!" I peppered his entire face with kisses. "I can't believe you sang that song."

Edward chuckled and gripped my waist tighter. "It's your favourite. I wanted to end jazz nights with a bang."

Then he leaned down and kissed me again, soundly and deeply as the crowd cheered around us.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: It's 12:42AM, which means that I'm a total failure! In my defense though, I just got back from a friend's house, and I haven't been home since 11 this morning. So anywho, this is really short and kind of sucky and I was planning on having some more things in this, which will now have to wait until tomorrow's chapter. I know that it's still Friday for most of you, but here it's officially Saturday and I'm pretty mad at myself that I didn't finish this chapter this morning before I went over to my friend's house. Anywho, hope you like, there's more of this to come in tomorrow's chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting**** Down the Days**

Chapter 17

_Friday, December 17__th_

"Do you want to stay over in my room tonight?" Edward asked as we lay half-sleeping on the couch in the living-area. Alice had complained we always disappeared into Edward's room after classes and that she never got to see us, so we made an effort to at least act like we were social.

I turned my head and looked up at him, butterflies suddenly in my stomach. "Like a sleepover?"

A cheeky grin covered his face, and I resisted the urge to look away in embarrassment. If he was thinking what I thought he was, I had every reason to blush. "Sort of."

I swallowed the nerves in my stomach and smiled. "I'd like that. Should I come over around 8?"

Edward's grin turned from cheeky to loving. "I'll be waiting."

"Bella, I need you!" Alice shouted from the doorway, and I sighed before untangling myself from Edward and standing up.

"The evil stepmother calls. I'll see you later." I lent down and kissed him chastely, careful not to get sucked into the kiss. No pun indented. As soon as I was within range Alice grabbed my arm and all but dragged me into our room. She was practically vibrating with excitement, and I eyed her warily. "What's going on, Al?"

"You're spending the night in Edward's room!"

"Yes, I know that. Anything else?"

"How are you so calm about this?"

I raised an eyebrow. What was she on about? "Why shouldn't I be calm about this?" Alice looked flabbergasted. Then I realized what she was thinking, and I blushed. "Alice, we're not going to have sex."

She looked stunned. "You're not?"

"No, we're not."

"Why not?"

I sighed. "Do you really want to know this? It's your brother we're talking about."

"But you're my best friend and Edward's your first serious boyfriend. Yes, I wanna know."

"Okay, suit yourself. We're not having sex today because I'm on my period. We're planning on having sex soon, though."

"When?"

"Alice!" She only raised her eyebrow and gave me her bitch face, and I sighed. "Tuesday, at your house." I'm sure my grin looked disturbingly love sick as I thought back on our conversation. "He said our first time shouldn't be in a dorm room."

"Right, because mom and dad are out of town. That man is smarter than I give him credit for. And he's right. Sex in a twin bed is hard, pun _totally_ intended."

I showered very thoroughly before going over to Edward's, making sure my legs were smooth and that my hair smelled good. Alice helped me blow dry it straight but I managed to talk her out of putting any make up on me. It would only smear, anyway.

Dressed in pj shorts and a tank top underneath my plush robe, I knocked on Edward's door. I nearly collapsed when he opened; he was shirtless. I'd never get used to seeing him like that, I was sure of it.

"Hey," I smiled at him.

"Hi." He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me to him tightly. His skin was warm, even through my robe and top. "Come in."

We ended up on the couch, like usually. My robe had come off as soon as I walked through the door, and I was sitting next to him in my pj's. He didn't seem to mind though; his thumb was stroking the skin on my ribcage right beneath my breast, and my nipples were poking through the shirt. My own hand was on his thigh, and I started to run my fingers over his skin. He tensed slightly before relaxing again, his thumb starting to stroke higher up. We were still both watching the TV, though I couldn't really remember what we were watching anymore. I started bringing my hand up higher, so it brushed against the hard bulge underneath his pants with every upstroke.

Edward groaned, and his hips started moving up against my hand. I turned my body to face his, not stopping my hand. His lips crashed against mine, and I boldly lifted my hand and placed it right on top of his rock hard erection. He whimpered into my mouth when I gripped his shaft in my hand through his pants. I started moving my hand up and down, tightening my grip when I came to the head. Another groan tore through Edward's throat, and his hips practically jumped off the couch.

"Tell me what to do," I mumbled against his mouth. I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing, although it couldn't have been very wrong judged by his reactions.

"Just keep going." Edward moaned. Without really thinking about it I lifted my hand and stuck it down his pants. This time it was I who moaned when my hand came into contact with his erection. He was hard, but soft at the same time. Like velvet over steel. And warm, so warm. I started moving my hand faster, adding a twist to my wrist on every up stroke.

Edward's grip on my waist was tight, and he pulled his mouth from mine to bury it in my neck. His hips were now pushing up into my hand with a new kind of desperation, and I realized he was close. Then his entire body froze, and he let out a growl as I felt his erection twitch in my hand. Long spurts of warm liquid oozed out of him and down over my hand. I felt him start to go soft, and I pulled my hand out. Edward stayed still for a while, breathing deeply into my neck, and then he lifted his head and looked at me.

"You're amazing," he panted and kissed me soundly. I moaned, but then pulled back when I realized my hand was still wet.

"Shit, sorry. Hold on." Edward bent over the couch to grab a t-shirt, which he used to first clean my hand and then himself. I blushed, and Edward chuckled.

"What?"

He grinned. "I just think you're so cute; blushing about me cleaning up what you did."

I fake gasped. "What I did? That was your mess, mister."

"Yes, but you made me messy." He kissed me again, and then stifled a yawn. "You wanna sleep?" I nodded; I was pretty tired. "You go lie down, I'm gonna change pants."

I hurried over to his bed and lay down closest to the wall, facing the room. Edward had dimmed the lights when I came over, but it was still bright enough to see. Edward had his back against me as he stood by the closet, and I nearly died when he pulled both his pants and boxers down over his hips and letting them fall to the floor. I was practically transfixed by his ass that I didn't really notice when he pulled on a clean pair of boxers and turned around.

"See something you like?"

"Yes," I stated, and patted the space next to me. "Come here." I lifted the covers, and Edward turned off the lights before he climbed into the bed. Since it was a twin, we didn't really have much room, and we struggled a bit at first with finding a position that was comfortable for the both of us. I ended up laying half on top of Edward, who was on his back, with my head resting against his chest.

"Goodnight Edward. I love you," I whispered into the now dark room, and I felt Edward's lips on top of my head.

"Goodnight Bella. I love you too."

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: It's one minute to midnight - I'm gonna make it. This is short, hope you forgive me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 18

_Saturday, December 18__th_

I woke up feeling warm kisses being placed on my neck. I sighed in contentment, but didn't open my eyes. "Am I dreaming?" I mumbled, and I heard Edward chuckle behind me.

"No."

I opened my eyes and turned my head back to look at him. Edward first thing in the morning was glorious; eyes droopy from sleep and his hair in an even messier disarray than usual. "Morning."

"Good morning." He leaned down and kissed me gently. I kept my mouth closed, I'm sure my morning breath wasn't the best. I realized then that we had somehow switched positions during the night and Edward was now spooning me, his arm around my waist and his legs tangled with mine. I managed to shift my body so I was facing him instead, and I brought my arm around his back. His skin was warm against my own and I buried my face in the crook of his neck. Edward hummed and pulled my body closer to his. I blushed when I felt his erection against my stomach, remembering what we did last night. It felt empowering in a way; that I was able to do that to him.

"A penny for your thoughts?" he sounded amused, even though I couldn't see his face.

"Just thinking about last night." I pulled my head back to look at him, and felt my stomach tighten when I saw his eyes had darkened. I gasped when his hand travelled down my waist, over my hip and settling on the back of my thigh, just below where my shorts ended. I shivered, and Edward lowered his lips to my neck, sucking the skin into his mouth. Moaning, I bent my head back to give him better access. I felt his fingers at the edge of my shorts, up towards my ass.

I moaned again and shifted my hand up into his hair, pulling on the strands softly. Suddenly Edward rolled us over so I was lying on my back with him resting between my spread legs. From there things progressed quickly; Edward's mouth met mine in a frenzied kiss and he gripped my thigh tighter, hitching it up over his hips. I hitched my other leg up around him as well, and started to gyrate my hips against his. Then, my phone rang. We stopped, and Edward reached over to the nightstand to get my phone.

"Hello?" I answered, sounding very out of breath in my own ears.

"_I'm late,"_ came Rose's voice, and I frowned. What did she mean late?

"What?"

"_My period! I'm late!" _

My eyes got big, and I looked up at Edward. He was watching me with his brow furrowed. "Are you sure?"

"_Yes, I'm sure. Can you come over?"_ she sounded close to tears, and I knew it was serious. Rose didn't cry very often. It just wasn't in her nature.

"I'll be over as soon as I can; I just need to get dressed." As the words left my mouth Edward moved off me and I stood up. Hanging up the phone I turned apologetically to Edward. "I'm sorry, I gotta go. Rose needs me."

"It's okay. I'll see you later."

I stepped into his warm arms and kissed him softly. "I had a nice time. We should do this again sometime."

Edward chuckled and tucked my hair behind my ear. "Same time tonight?"

I nodded, biting my lower lip. "I love you."

"Love you too. Now go before Rose kicks my ass for keeping you."

I picked up my robe and put it on before walking back to my room. Alice wasn't there, which I was grateful. I didn't really have the energy or the time to talk to her about last night. I got dressed as quickly as I could and brushed my teeth at a record speed before grabbing my jacket and scarf and rushing towards Rose's apartment.

I was out of breath and slightly sweaty when I knocked on her door. When she opened it, I was shocked. Her face was devoid of any make up, her hair was up in a simple ponytail and she was wearing sweats. By her red rimmed eyes I figured she'd been crying, and my heart broke for her.

"Are you okay?"

Her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. "No. What am I going to do?"

I walked past her in to the apartment and looked around. "Jasper's not here?"

"No, he and Alice went out. They'll be gone the entire day."

"Have you bought at test?"

"Again, no." Rose sat down on the couch and rested her head in her hands. "I didn't realize I was late until this morning, and I called you right after."

"Okay, our first step is to actually buy a pregnancy test. Come on, go get dressed."

She looked up at me and sighed. "I don't really feel like getting dressed. I'll just go like that."

"Oh no. That's not the Rosalie Hale I know. You're going to take a shower, get dressed and be the strong, independent woman I know. Don't let this get you down."

Rose stood up, and her posture held new confidence. "You're right. What am I doing? It's not the end of the world." She went to the bathroom to shower and in the meantime I turned on the TV.

Half an hour later we were on our way to a pharmacy away from campus, since Rose didn't want the chance of running into anybody she knew. I held her hand as we walked down the aisle in the pharmacy, and she was squeezing it tightly.

"There's so many. Which one should I get?"

I eyed the very different pregnancy tests, and couldn't help but to wonder if I was ever going to be in this situation. "Let's get a couple different ones, just in case."

We ended up buying three different tests, and I had to drive us back to campus because Rose's hands were shaking so bad. Her nerves were getting to her, I could tell. I didn't blame her; I'd probably act exactly the same. Once back in her apartment I handed her a bottle of water and instructed her to drink. Her eyes had a far away look in them as she grabbed all three tests and went into the bathroom.

"Now all we can do is wait," she said when she came out again, and I set the timer for three minutes. It was the longest three minutes of my life, and I think I was as nervous as Rose to look at the tests when the clock rang.

"Are you ready?" I asked, and she took a deep breath.

"Not really, but I have no choice. Let's get this over with."

I picked up the first test and looked at it.

One line. Not pregnant.

Rose picked up the second one and held it up for me to see too.

One line. Not pregnant.

I was holding my breath when Rose picked up the third one, and our clasped hands between us tightened.

One line. Not pregnant.

Rose let out a humourless laugh and rested her head on the back of the sofa. "Not pregnant. I'm not pregnant."

**Like it? Loathe it? Let me know.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: The last two chapters I can say I'm not exactly proud over - I should have taken more time to write each chapter. Things should get better now though, I have more time to write. Hope you like this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 19

_Su__nday, December 19__th_

This was the second time I'd woken up next to Edward, and I loved it. It didn't matter that the twin bed really wasn't built for two people; that it became really hot underneath the duvet or that Edward snored slightly. It was all perfect. Unlike yesterday, I woke up before him and could therefore take a few minutes to watch him as he slept.

We were facing each other, legs tangled and his arm around my waist. I lifted my hand and brushed my fingers gently through the hair that fell down over his forehead, pushing it back a bit. Then my fingers glided down over his forehead and over his sharp cheekbone. His skin was warm underneath my fingers and slightly scratchy from his scruff. I traced the contours of his face and then let my fingers go up and across his lips. They were partially open and as I ran my finger across his bottom lip I felt every breath he took. I shifted around to his upper lip, and marvelled at how soft his lips were. It was so peaceful, lying here with him. God knows I needed it after the day I had yesterday.

It had been hectic to say the least. Right after Rose and I found out that she wasn't pregnant, Alice and Jasper came barging in. Jasper had a migraine, so their day out was cut short. I'd imagine his migraine got worse when he found out his sister thought she'd been pregnant. They started arguing, so Alice and I left. We'd met Emmett on our way down, and realized the shit was about to hit the fan. On top of that drama, an apartment a two floors above Rose and Jasper's had caught fire and the entire building had to be evacuated. It had been a relief to be able to go to Edward later and just lie on the couch and kiss and watch TV.

I retracted my hand and wrapped it around his back instead, using it as leverage to pull myself closer to him. Our faces were at level with each other for once and I worked that to my advantage when I leaned in and pressed my lips softly against his. I took his bottom lip in my mouth first, sucking it into my mouth. Edward made a soft noise in the back of his throat, and I knew he was on the verge of waking up. I released his bottom lip and kissed him full on, smiling slightly against his lips when I felt him start to kiss me back. His tongue met mine and I moaned softly. Edward pulled back slowly and when I opened my eyes I saw he was watching me.

"That's a pleasant way to wake up," he said with a smile.

"I can imagine." I smiled back and then yawned.

"Are you tired?" when I nodded, his smile turned into a sexy smirk. "We did go to bed kind of late last night."

I blushed, remembering our frenzied touching last night. "Yes we did."

We lay a few minutes in silence, and then Edward began to speak. "By the way, what did Rose want yesterday?"

I hesitated. Was it okay for me to tell him? The others already knew, including Emmett. I considered lying, but I didn't want to lie to Edward. Not now, not ever. So I decided to tell the truth. "Rose called me because she thought she was pregnant."

Edward's eyes went wide. "Oh. Was she?"

"No, it was a false alarm. She was still pretty scared, though."

"Understandable." He paused, as if he was afraid to ask what was on his mind. "Are you having second thoughts? About Tuesday, I mean. I know it's a bit different knowing the risks and actually seeing them being manifested."

"I'm not having second thoughts," I reassured both him, and a little bit myself, I think. "I want you, you know I do." I leaned in and kissed him softly.

Edward smiled. "We need to get out of this bed before I ravage you."

I giggled and pressed my body closer to his. "Are you having difficulty controlling yourself, Mr Cullen?"

He groaned and pushed himself back against the wall, trying to widen the gap between us. "You know I do, so I suggest you get up."

I drew back the covers and swung my body around to sit up. "So easy to tease."

...

We all decided to go bowling later that day, and bundled up in our winter coats before going outside. A cold front had hit Chicago last night, and the temperature had dropped below 20 degrees. The sun that was poking through the clouds made it seem colder, and smoke came out of all our mouths when we breathed. My mitten-clad hand was firmly held in Edward's as we walked across the parking lot.

"You are so going down!" Emmett said triumphantly. "I'm the master of bowling."

"I bet you 50 bucks I'll beat you," Jasper said, and Emmett grinned.

"You're on!"

The bowling alley was relatively empty; there were only four out of the twelve lanes occupied. While Edward, Jasper and Emmett went to pay for the lanes, I looked at the bowling balls worriedly.

"You know I suck at bowling, right?" I looked up at Rose, who had a duh expression on her face. Alice was over by the bowling shoes, trying to find a pair in her size. Her feet were the size of a twelve year olds.

"I know. I've seen you bowl before," Rose smirked. We went over to Alice, and I managed to find a pair of size 6 shoes that didn't look too disgusting. The guys joined us, and Edward spoke up.

"Should we do teams of three?"

"Yes!" Emmett was never one to miss out on an opportunity to compete. "I want Jasper and Edward on my team. Guys vs. girls."

"No way, that's unfair!" Alice called out. "You guys are really good at this, and neither Bella nor I am so that gives you an unfair advantage."

"So who gets Bella? She's the weak link."

"Hey! I am not the weak link." For good measure I punched Jasper's arm, but by the laugh he let out it didn't hurt him at all. "You guys suck."

Edward wrapped his arms around me and kissed my hair. "How about Alice, Emmett and Rose in one team and me, Bella and Jasper in the other?"

"Sure. What are we playing about?"

"How about the losing team has to make a three course dinner for the winning team at our apartment tomorrow?" Rose suggested.

We all agreed, and went to find ourselves some balls. My goal was to find the lightest one available, hoping it would enable me to at least knock down some pins. I finally found a 9 pound ball that seemed to be working for me, and I brought it to the lane where Edward and Jasper were waiting.

"Okay, who's first?" I looked at the screen and groaned when I saw my name at the top. "I'm first? That's great, thanks guys." I stepped up on the lane and faced the ten white pins I was going to try to knock down. I brought my arm back and then swung it forwards, releasing the ball. It actually went in a fairly straight line at first, but then severed of to the right and into the gutter. That, ladies and gentlemen, was the full extent of my bowling talent.

When it was two minutes left on the game we were down by four points and it was my turn to go. I'd managed to get some pins down during the game, but nothing worth bragging about.

"I hope you like to cook Bella, because you're going to have to put your cooking skills to use." Emmett was trying to psyche me, but it didn't work. I only needed to get five pins and we would win. I'd done that earlier, five pins should be easy. But I was bad at bowling, and I was nervous. I really wanted to win.

Picking up my ball I got ready to take my shot. I could hear Emmett in the background trying to psyche me, but I tuned him out. Instead I stared at the pins, and imagined Emmett's face on all of them. I took a deep breath, swung my arm forwards and released the ball.

It went in a straight line towards the pins, and I held my breath. The others were silent behind me, and I imagined they were watching the ball with the same intensity as I was. Then the ball hit the pins, and they went down with a crash. All of them. I did a strike! I let out a cry of victory and turned around to the face others. Edward was in front of me within a split second and I laughed when he picked me up and spun me around in circles. We won!

"So what can we expect for dinner tomorrow?" I teased Emmett as we walked back to the cars. He stayed silent as his bottom lip jutted out in a pout, and I laughed. "Remember that I like my steaks well done."

...

"It's going to be weird sleeping alone tonight." I said when Edward and I stood outside my room later that night. It was time to go to sleep, and since we both had early classes tomorrow it seemed more convenient that we slept in our own beds.

"I'll miss you," Edward mumbled into my neck and I shivered. He lifted his head and ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up even more.

"I'll miss you too. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too. Sweet dreams." He kissed me sweetly and then waited for me to go inside.

I changed into a t-shirt I'd stolen from Edward this morning. It still smelled like him, and that was a comfort when I lay in my bed. It was suddenly too big, too cold. I tossed and turned for almost two hours, unable to go to sleep.

When my alarm clock showed 1:45AM I got up and pulled on my robe before grabbing my cell phone and keys and leaving the room. The hallway was dark and quiet; the only sound being heard was from the air-conditioning. I knocked on Edward's door quietly, and was mildly surprised when he opened the door after just one knock. No words were exchanged between us as I stepped inside and removed my robe before climbing into his bed. He followed soon after, and when he wrapped his arms around me it suddenly felt right again. I fell asleep rather quickly this time.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I feel I'm starting to get a better grip on this story than I had this weekend, which is good. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 20

_Monday__, December 20__th_

"What time are we going over to Rose and Jasper?" Edward asked, and I looked up from my book. I was curled up underneath a blanket on Edward's couch, reading Persuasion. He was sitting opposite from me, and our feet were touching below the blanket.

"At six. Why?"

He stood up and reached out his hand towards me. "Come, let's go for a walk."

"Okay."

It was warmer outside than yesterday, and it was also snowing. Big snowflakes that came down from the sky and coated everything in a layer of white. It was very cozy, walking through campus with Edward's arm slung around my shoulders. There weren't exactly a lot of people out, but we spotted a few.

"I can't believe it's already the last week of classes. Can you believe how fast this semester has gone?"

"It does feel a bit unreal," Edward agreed. "But it feels like it has gone slow as well. For example; it feels like we've been much longer than a week."

"It does." I burrowed my body closer to his and rested my head on his arm. "It feels good though," I looked up at him, and noticed the smile on his face. He hummed in agreement and leaned his head down to kiss me. The kiss was short because it was hard to walk and kiss at the same time. I stumbled and almost fell, but managed to keep myself upright. We walked for almost half an hour, and then Edward steered us towards the music building. I didn't mind in the least; I loved hearing Edward play, and it had been a while since I'd had the pleasure.

We ran into a few of Edward's teachers and classmates on our way up to the practice rooms, but we didn't stay and chat. Edward's favourite room was unoccupied like it usually was, and he didn't waste any time; going up to the grand piano and immediately sitting down to play, pausing only to remove his jacket. I sat down in my usual seat on the couch and just watched him.

He played through a lot of songs, not really focusing on one thing. After a while he stopped playing and turned his head to look at me. "Come, sit with me." He patted the space next to him, and I rose from the couch to join him. I sunk down on the seat next to him, our legs touching from hip to knee and my hands folded in my lap.

He began playing a song I knew, and I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face. Then Edward began to sing, and I was reduced to a puddle of goo on the floor.

"_I give her all my love  
That's all I do  
And if you saw my love  
You'd love her too  
I love her."_

I sat as enchanted while he played one of my favorite songs ever. When he finished, I was speechless. "I – you – how - that was amazing!" I stuttered out, and Edward smiled.

"I thought it was pretty representative of my feelings for you. I love you Bella, so much."

"I love you too Edward, very much." I kissed him hard, and he returned the kiss just as enthusiastically. I rose to my knees, balancing unsteadily on the narrow bench before throwing my leg over his lap and straddling him. His hands settled on my ass and pulled me closer to his groin. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my fingers through his hair, causing him to groan against my mouth. My hips started to gyrate against his and I gasped when the seam of my jeans rubbed me just right. But because the universe hated us, Edward's phone started to ring. We halted our movements and I backed out further on his thighs so he could reach his phone.

"Hello?" he sounded irritated, and I couldn't help but to lean in and press my lips against his throat. I began nipping on the skin, going around to his Adam's apple. "Already? Shit. Yeah, we'll be right over." He hung up the phone and groaned. "Bella, we need to go. It's almost six; we'll be late for dinner." I pulled back and smiled wistfully.

"I can't wait until tomorrow."

Edward smiled and raised his hand to stroke my cheek. "Neither can I."

I moved off him pretty quickly, knowing it would just get harder if I didn't .No pun intended. I made sure my hair wasn't messed up, and then we put on our jackets and prepared to leave. It was still snowing when we came outside, and I looked up at the sky happily. I started to spin around in circles, head thrown back and my arms straight out. I spun round, and round, and round, and round. Until Edward's arms on my waist stopped me, grounding me to the earth. The laughter died in my throat when I saw the look on his face. Without a word I reached up and kissed him softly. This was a far cry from our earlier kiss, but wonderful in a different way. His cold lips warmed up against mine soon enough, and I could feel every exhale on my cheek.

"Bella?"

I broke the kiss and looked behind me, groaned inwardly when I saw Mike Newton standing there. "Mike, hey."

"It's been a while."

I nodded, but on the inside, I was rolling my eyes. It'd been like two weeks. That's hardly 'a while'. "Yes it has. How've you been?"

"Good. Do you maybe wanna grab dinner sometime? Catch up?"

"Sorry Mike, but I'm not available."

His cheeks flushed pink. "You don't even know what day yet."

"It doesn't matter. I have a boyfriend."

Mike seemed to realize for the first time that it was Edward standing next to me, and he visibly gulped. "Oh, okay. Well, happy holidays to you both. I'll see you next year."

"You too." I called after him as he nearly ran away. I turned to Edward. "He's really strange, isn't he?"

We arrived at Rose and Jasper's apartment fifteen minutes later, and were met by a delicious aroma as soon as Jasper opened the door. "Hey guys."

"Hi! What are we having? It smells delicious."

"I don't know. I've been banished from the kitchen for hours."

When I walked further into the apartment I noticed that the dining room table was set with fancy silverware and linen napkins folded into standing fans. I giggled when I imagined Emmett standing and folding the napkins. "Are we eating sometime this year?" I called out teasingly, and I heard Emmett's voice call back from the kitchen.

"Not a word Swan, or I'll do something gross to your food."

I laughed and sat down on the couch next to Edward. I'd barely gotten in a comfortable position when Emmett came out from the kitchen. I had to stifle a laugh; he was dressed in black pants, a white button down shirt and a black bow tie with pink polka dots on it. He cleared his throat and stood up straighter.

"Dinner is served." His voice was serious, and he didn't even flinch when Jasper and Edward burst out laughing.

"Nice bowtie, Em." Edward laughed, and I smacked his arm.

"Be nice. Come on, let's eat. I'm starving."

We went to the dining room table and sat down. Emmett came out from the kitchen carrying a tray with three small plates on it.

"We'll start off with a fruit salad made from this season's fruits. Enjoy." He placed the 'appetizers' in front of us, and I eyes the plate of fruit warily.

"Hey, Em?" he turned back to look at me. "Did you make this?"

A proud smile broke out on his face, and he nodded. "I can't cook, but I can chop fruits."

We all laughed and started eating. I have to say, dinner wasn't bad. For our main course we had Chicken Alfredo and dessert was an amazing chocolate cheesecake. Emmett, Rose and Alice had joined us, and Emmett was currently on his third serving of the chocolate cheesecake. I didn't blame him; for a moment I'd considered going to the bathroom to throw up just to make room for more cake.

"Rose, you _have_ to give me the recipe," I said, feeling very full and about five pounds heavier.

"Will do. So, what's the verdict? Was it edible? Because from my point of view we did a fucktastic good job."

"I give you an A+. I'm not going to have to eat again until Christmas Eve."

"I'm with Edward," I said and took a sip of my coke. "The last time I ate this well was Esme's cooking."

A dreamlike expression came on to Emmett's face, and he stopped eating for a second. "Mmh, Esme's chocolate pie."

"You get extra points for Emmett's bowtie," Jasper chuckled, causing the entire table to burst out in laughter, even Emmett.

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter. Outfit's on my profile (one word; jawporn) and I hope you like this. I'm nervous about this, actually. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, Stephenie Meyer owns everything.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 21

_Tuesday__, December 21__st_

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes, I do."

"Legs shaved?"

"Check."

"Lingerie?"

"Check."

She handed me my toiletries bag with a smile. "I believe that you are good to go."

I gave her a nervous smile. "Great. I'll see you tomorrow."

Alice winked. "Have fun."

It was finally here, what Alice had affectionately called D-day. I was a bit nervous, but I knew I didn't need to. Edward would take care of me. I'd stood in the shower for over an hour, shaving my legs thoroughly and making sure my bikini line was trimmed. Edward was waiting downstairs in the car, having been out to buy the last Christmas presents.

I saw his silver Volvo immediately when I came outside, and Edward stepped out of the car to greet me. I stepped into his open arms willingly, and squeezed him tightly.

"Hi Edward."

"Hey baby." His smile was larger than I'd ever seen it, other than possibly when we first got together. God, was it really only a week ago? I leaned up and kissed his smiling lips gently. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded, my smile as large as his. "I'm ready."

Edward led me around to the passenger side and opened the door for me, which was one of the gazillion things I loved about him. Jazz music was playing softly in the background as we started our ride towards Edward's house.

"I was thinking we could pick up dinner on the way."

I turned my head to look at him, leaning it back against the headrest. "Sounds great. What are we eating?"

Edward chuckled. "It's a surprise."

We pulled up in front of a restaurant I recognized as having gone to on Alice's birthday earlier this year. It was a fairly fancy place, and Edward drove right past the valet service and to the parking lot. He put the car in park and leaned over to kiss me quickly. "I'll be right back." He jumped out of the car and walked briskly in to the restaurant. He wasn't gone more than a couple of minutes before he was back, a white bag in his hand. After putting the bag in the backseat Edward got behind the wheel and we continued driving.

The ball in my stomach tightened the closer we got to the house, but Edward's hand in mine kept me grounded. I couldn't help but to smile when we pulled up in the driveway; all the Christmas lights were on and so was the porch light, giving the house a warm and welcoming glow.

"Bella?"

I was so entranced by the house I hadn't noticed that Edward had opened my door and was offering me his hand. "Sorry." I accepted his hand and let him lead me into the house. I removed my shoes and then shrieked when Edward put his hand over my eyes.

"I need you to stay here and keep your eyes closed. Can you do that?" his voice in my ear caused goose bumps to break out all over my skin, and I nodded.

"Yes,"

I stood absolutely still as I felt him walk past me and go into the kitchen. I could hear him take out plates and such, and I waited anxiously. After what seemed like hours I heard him approach, and I felt his hand come up to cover my face. Then his lips were on mine and I let out a soft moan. Edward pulled away, and my lips suddenly felt empty.

"Come with me." He grasped my hands and started leading me forwards. It was a bit scary since I couldn't see where I was going, but I trusted him with every fiber of my being. He stopped me by adding light pressure to my hands, and when I inhaled I could smell something delicious. My stomach rumbled lightly, and Edward chuckled. "Open your eyes," he whispered, and I did.

"Oh, Edward!" I gasped, looking around. The entire living room was covered in candles, creating the most romantic atmosphere I'd ever experienced. A small table for two had been set up, complete with a white linen table cloth and two tall candles standing in the middle.

"It's not too much, is it? I was worried it would be too cheesy; Alice said it was borderline cheesy but mom said-" I interrupted him with a kiss, swallowing the words that were coming from his mouth.

"It's perfect. Truly."

His grin was boyish, and it made me happy to see him like this. "Good, good. Shall we eat?"

We sat down to eat, and dinner was absolutely delicious. I had a chicken dish while Edward ate pork. "This is so amazing," I moaned. "You've got to try this." I speared a piece of chicken on my fork and leaned over. Edward took the fork in his mouth, pulling the chicken off and then moaning.

"You're right; it is amazing."

We were drinking white wine with our food, and though I was only on my first glass I was beginning to feel warmer inside. When we were finished Edward cleared the table and told me to stay where I was. I took another sip of wine and smiled to myself, imagining how the evening would fold out.

"I hope you have some space left for dessert," Edward called out as he entered the living-room again. He was carrying two dessert plates with some sort of chocolate cake on them, and my mouth watered. From the first bite I was hooked; chocolate lava cake was my favourite. I finished my dessert last, well aware that Edward was watching me as I ate. So I played it up for him; moaning in delight and eating as seductively as I could.

I mentally high fived myself when I saw Edward's eyes darken with lust, and the second I put down the fork Edward was on his feet. "I'll be right back." He took our dishes and went into the kitchen to clean up. In the meantime I blew out all the candles, which plunged the room into darkness. I heard footsteps behind me and then felt Edward's body behind mine, his hands on my hips and his lips against my ear.

"Let's go upstairs."

I was more excited than nervous when Edward led me upstairs. I was ready for this; I wanted this. There was no hesitation in my mind; we weren't doing this too soon. Time didn't matter, only feelings did. I loved Edward with every fiber of my being.

I'd been in Edward's room before, but this time it felt very different. I walked further into the room as Edward closed the door behind us and dimmed the lights. I could still see him, but the light wasn't as harsh.

"I love you," I whispered. To speak any louder felt inappropriate at this stage.

"I love you too," Edward replied and within two long strides he was in front of me. He kissed me softly, gently coaxing my lips open with his tongue and drawing my breath from me. I clung to him, arms around his neck and fingers tangled in his hair.

Edward started walking us backwards towards the bed and I followed willingly. I stopped us before we reached the bed and ran my hands down his chest and to the hemline of his sweater, pulling it up. Our lips separated so I could pull his sweater over his head and throw it on the floor. His hands found the edge of my shirt and I raised my arms above my head to aid him. My shirt joined his and then his mouth was on mine again. I moaned when his hands started to roam over my body and I ran my nails down his chest. Edward groaned and our kiss became more heated. His fingers followed my ribcage down to the waistband of my jeans and he undid them swiftly. His mouth left mine and instead trailed down my body, placing hot open-mouthed kisses as he went. He started kissing and nipping the skin right above my jeans as he went down on his knees and began to pull them down over my hips. I used his shoulders for balance as I lifted first one leg and then the other, allowing him to pull my jeans and socks off all the way. I now stood in front of him in my blue lace set, wearing the same thong Edward had picked up off the floor almost three weeks ago.

"I remember these," Edward murmured, his hands splayed on my thighs and his thumbs rubbing circles near my panty line. He raised his head to look up at me. "You have no idea what the mental image of you wearing these tormented me."

"Now you don't have to visualise it anymore." I didn't recognize my voice, I sounded to sultry. A keening sound left my throat when Edward leaned in and rubbed his nose across the lace covering my center. I gripped his shoulders tighter and felt my thighs shake.

Edward stood up and grabbed me around the waist, lifting me in the air and walking forwards until he could set me down on his bed. He was now standing in front of me, and I could see the large bulge in his pants. My hands shaking slightly, I reached up and traced his abdominal muscles with the tips of my fingers. They clenched and unclenched underneath my touch, and Edward's breathing started to get heavier. I let my hands wander lower to the trail of bronze hair leading down to his jeans. It was soft against my fingers. I popped open the first button on his jeans and then started with the button fly. When it was completely undone I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of both his jeans and boxers and pushed them down his legs. He helped, and soon Edward was standing in front of me as naked as the day he was born.

I didn't hesitate in the slightest as I wrapped my hand around his length and began stroking him. Edward groaned and his hands came to rest lightly on top of my head. I let the sounds he made guide me as I continued to stroke him. When I came to the head I twisted my wrist, and that made him buck his hips into my touch.

"No more," he panted and pushed my hand away before leaning down and capturing my lips with his own. I wrapped my arm around his neck to pull him to me and used the other one for balance as I started to move back on the bed. He followed me and I felt like I was covered in an Edward blanket.

I gasped and threw my head back when his kisses went lower, down over my neck and collarbone. His hands wandered up my ribcage and around to my back, searching for the clasp on my bra. I arched my back to help him out and then felt the bra unsnap. Edward pulled it off me and discarded of it before his hands found my breasts. I moaned as he pinched my nipples between his fingers and clawed at his back.

"So beautiful." I heard him murmur against my skin before he pulled my right nipple in his mouth. He alternated his attention between my nipples until I was a pool of need. Then his kisses went lower, down over my stomach and bellybutton. His fingers hooked in the sides of my thong and I lifted my hips so he could pull them off me.

I lay panting and staring up at the ceiling as I felt him gently spread my legs more and run his hands down to my inner thighs. I was slightly nervous about him being down there, but all my thoughts vanished when I felt him place a soft kiss right on top of my clit.

"Oh God!" I fisted my hands in the sheet and my hips bucked up against him. I was slowly losing my mind as he continued on with his ministrations and I could do nothing but lay there and moan. My pleasure intensified when I felt two of his fingers press at my entrance, and then slowly sink into me. He started pumping them in and out, and my hips were now bucking so much he had to put his other arm over my lower stomach to hold me down.

Edward curled his fingers inside me and all of the sudden I saw stars. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move! A high pitched cry left my lips, and then I went completely boneless. I felt like I'd run a marathon, and was breathing heavy. While I was trying to get my wits together again I heard the tearing of plastic, and managed to lift my head to see Edward put on a condom. My nerves came back in full force, but I tried to push them away.

Edward crawled on top of me, resting between my spread legs. He must have sensed my nervousness, because he caressed my cheek with his thumb. "Relax, Bella. I'll go slowly, okay?"

I nodded. "I'm ready."

"Let me know if it hurts." He kissed me deeply, and I could feel him line himself up at my entrance. Then he pressed into me, and I winched into his mouth. It didn't hurt very much per say, it was more of a burning sensation. He pulled out a bit before pushing in again, and his whole body shook with the effort of holding himself up. I felt his hips flush against mine, and he growled into my mouth. At first it was a bit uncomfortable, but with every thrust of his hips the discomfort lessened and a new, intense feeling started to grow in my stomach.

I broke our kiss to throw my head back and groan. Edward emitted a similar sound before lowering his lips to my neck. His thrusts started to get harder and I wrapped my legs around legs to pull him in deeper. He pulled away slightly and then I felt his thumb between my thighs, rubbing my clit. The tightness in my stomach intensified, and when he bit down on my neck my entire body exploded. I collapsed back against the pillow and tried to catch my breath. Edward's thrusting started losing rhythm, and I pulled him down for a hard kiss. His body was tight like a bow string, and then he groaned loudly against my lips, his hips flush with mine.

Edward collapsed on top of me but then rolled over as not to crush me. He took a few deep breaths and then leaned down to dispose of the condom. Then he grabbed his discarded t-shirt and wiped gently between my legs and then threw it on the floor.

"Let's get under the covers," he suggested, and I moved so he could pull it our from under me. Once he was lying down again I snuggled up against his side. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?"

I looked up at him and shook my head. "You were wonderful. It was wonderful."

"I'm glad." He leaned down and kissed me gently.

When I pulled back I was smiling. "So, when can we do that again?"

**Like it? Loathe it? Let me know.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I want to say a HUGE thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter - I was really nervous about it. Anywho, I seriously doubt that I'll be able to update the last three chapters once a day, since I'll be super busy with all the celebrating and such. If I don't update tomorrow, I'll post all three chapters at the same time the moment their finished. Hope that's all right by all of you. So happy holidays everybody :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

* * *

**

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 22

_Wednesday__, December 22__nd_

I woke up feeling oddly satisfied, and when I opened my eyes looked right out the floor to ceiling window in Edward's room. Everything outside was white, and a warm feeling spread to my stomach. Then I frowned when I realized that I was alone. I sat up gingerly, clutching the cover to my chest. I saw nothing that would clue me in on where Edward was, so I decided to go exploring. When I swung my legs over the edge of the bed I felt a slight soreness between my legs. Nothing major, but instead a pleasant reminder that last night had in fact happened. Though I hadn't been a virgin, I'd felt like one. My only other short sexual experience left a lot to be desired.

I looked around for something to wear and started reaching for Edward's sweater when I remembered he'd used it to wipe between my legs last night. Then I spotted a t-shirt of his hanging on his desk chair, and instead I threw the cover of my body and went to get put it on. I picked up my thong from the floor and put it on before I left his room.

As I walked down the hallway towards the stairs I could smell something burning, and I heard cursing coming from the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around my middle and went down the stairs, shivering slightly. As I walked through the living room I saw that the candles and table from last night had been cleared away. Edward must have been up for at least an hour. I also noticed the huge ornate Christmas tree I'd completely overlooked last night. When I came to the kitchen, I couldn't help but to laugh. Edward was standing by the stove, a frying pan with what looked like a burnt pancake in it in his hand. He turned around when he heard me, and a sheepish grin covered his face.

"I was trying to make you breakfast in bed, but I guess I overestimated my cooking skills a bit."

I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his bare upper body. I looked up at him and smiled. "It doesn't matter. I love you anyway."

Edward chuckled and rested his hands on my hips, kneading my skin through the fabric of his t-shirt. "I love you too. Have I told you how amazing you look in my clothes?"

"No, but feel free to say it anytime."

He leaned down so his mouth was almost on mine and then paused. "You look amazing in my clothes."

I smiled and raised my head the fraction of an inch needed to kiss him. It was a hard and passionate kiss, our hands roaming freely across each others bodies. I moaned into his mouth as I felt his hands on my ass, pressing me against him.

"Are you sore?" he said between kisses, and I shook my head. I let out a squeal when Edward picked me up and spun around before setting me down on the counter.

We then proceeded to defile the kitchen counter, floor and upstairs shower. When we finally had enough Edward had rug burn on his back and I had a huge hickey on my collarbone. If I had my way I would have stayed entangled with him all day, but we were doing secret Santa at the dorm at lunch, so it wasn't really possible.

"I'm not going to be able to walk tomorrow," I groaned as I sat down in the passenger seat of Edward's Volvo. I could already feel my sore muscles protesting, and knew it was going to be even worse tomorrow.

"Is that a bad thing?" Edward smirked.

"Yes! Unless you want your mother to know that we defined practically her entire house."

Edward laughed, which made me resent him just a little bit. "She's not going to know anything, Bella. Besides, that house has probably been defiled before."

"You do realize you're talking about your parents' sex life?" I raised my eyebrows and suppressed a shudder. I loved Carlisle and Esme like my own parents, but I did _not_ want to think about them like that. Nor my own parents. As far as I was concerned, I was a test tube baby.

Edward visibly shuddered. "I wasn't necessarily talking about my parents, more about Alice and Jasper. Thanks though for putting that rather unpleasant mental image in my brain." He started the car and we began our journey back to campus. Alice had threatened us both with bodily harm if we weren't back at the dorm by noon.

We barely made it in time, arriving at our floor at 11.57. Alice was standing in the hallway; feet apart, hands on her hips and looking like a Nazi officer. But with a reindeer headband. I could tell that she was trying to look serious and stern, but soon failed and broke out in a huge smile. As soon as I was close enough she wrapped me in a surprisingly tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" she squealed in my ear. I saw Tanya come out from the living area, and stifled a laugh at the look on her face.

"Uh, Alice, people are anxious to start." She said, and Alice let me go.

"Go get your presents and then come straight to join us. Pronto!"

I resisted the urge to salute her, and instead gave Edward a large smile before going in to my room to get his present. I'd wrapped it myself, so it wasn't the beautiful thing ever.

The Christmas spirit was everywhere, and it kinda looked like a decorating store had thrown up inside the living area. I stopped in the doorway, taking in the sight of everybody sitting around and talking, some wearing Santa hats. I felt him before I heard him, his hands on my thighs and his head resting on my shoulder.

"Look at that." He raised his hand and pointed over our heads. "Mistletoe."

I turned my head to look at him. "Well, what do you know." I pressed my lips against his. If it was one thing I couldn't live without, it was Edward's kisses. I'd love nothing more than to kiss him all day every day, but that was unfortunately not possible.

"Okay, everybody, find the person you've bought a gift for!" Alice called out, and the room became a whirlwind of people giving and receiving gifts.

I turned around to face Edward, and handed him the book with a smile. "Merry Christmas, Edward."

"You're my secret Santa?" He sounded surprised.

"Uh, yeah?"

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a white envelope. "Merry Christmas, Bella."

"We got each other? What are the odds?" I accepted the envelope from him and in return he took the book I'd bought him.

"I think it's not so much odds and more a tiny black haired person we both know and love."

"Why am I not surprised," I mumbled as I opened the envelope. Two rectangular pieces of thick paper lay inside and I picked them up carefully, not wanting to get a paper cut. I looked at them, but I wasn't really seeing what they were. Two words stuck out, but I couldn't really comprehend them.

Paul McCartney.

They were tickets to Paul McCartney. _Concert_ tickets to Paul McCartney. I looked up at Edward, still in shock.

"You gave me Paul McCartney tickets?"

"Yes."

"Concert tickets, to go see Paul McCartney."

Edward nodded. "Yes. I know it's not in New York and not until April, but I hardly think it matters to you."

A squeal that would make Alice jealous left my lips as I jumped him, wrapping my arms and legs around him. "Thank you!" I chanted into his ear, and I could feel his body shake with laughter.

"So I take it you like my gift?"

I slid down his body and instead grabbed his hand in mine. "I _love_ it. But you shouldn't have, it must have cost you a fortune!"

"Sure, it was a bit expensive, but it's just not a present to you. There's two tickets, see? We could make a weekend out of it."

I could help but to wrap my arm around his neck and pull him down for a hard kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I could feel the edge of his still unopened present digging into my back.

"I'm not sure you should open your present," I said as I pulled away from the kiss. "It pales in comparison to your gift."

Edward grinned. "I doubt that." He ripped the paper and turned the book over, reading the cover. Then he looked up at me and gave me a chaste kiss. "I love it, and I love you."

"I love you too. Are you sure you like it? I mean, your gift was so much more, I can't even-"

He kissed me again, swallowing the words I'd been about to say. "You're giving me everything already, just by being with me. Don't ever doubt that."

**Like it? Loathe it? Love it? Let me know. **


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I know, I majorly suck. Honestly, I was expecting to have this chapter out almost two weeks ago, but real life didn't like that very much. I hope everybody's had a nice holiday. I can't say when the last two chapters are going to be up, but hopefully soonish - at least before the snow melts.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

* * *

**Counting Down the Days**

Chapter 23

_Thursday__, December 23__rd_

I woke up to the most pleasant feeling ever; Edward's warm lips kissing my neck and his hand between my thighs. I moaned and tilted my hips up into his touch. He began to rub me faster and lowered his hand to dip his finger inside of me.

"Edward," I moaned and bent my head down to kiss him. We kissed hard and I reached down to curl my hand around his shaft. I was rewarded with a loud groan and the up speeding of his fingers. The heel of his hand rubbed my clit with every stroke, and my body froze as a small orgasm racked through my body. Edward removed his hand and instead wrapped it around my waist, pulling me partly on top of him.

"I need you," he groaned into my mouth, and I nodded.

"Yes!" Edward reached to the nightstand and took out a condom. Before he could open it though I took it from him and ripped it open. I pumped his shaft a few more times and then rolled the condom on him. "How are we going to do this?" my words ended in a moan; his hand was between my thighs again. The bed was so narrow I was afraid one of us would roll down onto the floor.

"Get on top," Edward panted, rolling over onto his back. If I wasn't so turned on, I probably would have hesitated a bit. I still wasn't 100 % comfortable with him seeing me naked like this. But I thought nothing of it as I swung my leg over his hips and settled down on top of him. His erection was wedged between us, and I moved my hips back and forwards. Simultaneous sounds of pleasure left our throats, and his hands settled on my hips. He lifted me up and I lined him up underneath me before sinking down. I had to bite down hard on my bottom lip to quench the moan that was threatening to burst forward. He was in so deep this way, and felt so amazing. I started to move up and down, bracing my hands on his chest.

"Uh, Edward!" I closed my eyes, throwing my head back and trying to gulp in air into my lungs. We moved together for what seemed like ages, no sounds but the slap of our flesh and our moans.

"Lean back," Edward panted, running his hand down my front and stopping at my clit. I did as he said, leaning back and resting my hands on his thighs. This changed the angle of him inside of me, and my orgasm took me by surprise. I collapsed against Edward's chest, and soon felt him join me over the edge.

I looked up at him, resting my chin against his chest. "Good morning."

He chuckled and reached up to caress my hair. "And what a morning it is."

"Feel free to wake me up like that anytime."

Edward only smiled and pulled me down for a kiss.

We surfaced pretty soon afterwards, and I reluctantly went back to my own room to change clothes and pack the last of my stuff. I would be staying with Edward's family until the beginning of January, so I'd need a lot of stuff. Luckily for me, Alice was around to help me pack. The three of us piled in to Edward's Volvo and then started driving up to their house. I sat in the passenger seat; Edward's hand tightly clasped in my own, and couldn't help but to blush when I thought about yesterday morning. Thank God we cleaned the house thoroughly before we left. Edward must have noticed my blushing because he squeezed my hand harder and I saw a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"I don't even want to know what that look was about," Alice chirped from the backseat. "I love you both, but I don't want to hear anything about your sex life, okay?"

"What, so I can't pay you back for the last year? I think I know more about yours and Jasper's sex life than he does."

"Can we please not use the words Jasper and sex in the same sentence?" Edward visibly cringed. "I don't want to know that stuff about him, and especially since he's doing it with my little sister."

"Can't we just leave the topic of various people's sex lives?"

"Sure. Do you have any special Christmas traditions I should know about? I'd hate to make a fool out of myself."

"On Christmas Eve our entire family, cousins and all, join together and eat Christmas dinner and exchange gifts. This year we're having it at our house, so mom's been cooking for like a week."

My mouth opened in chock as I looked back at Alice. "I'm meeting the entire family tomorrow? You didn't think it was a good idea to tell me this a bit earlier?"

Edward's eyes met Alice's in the rearview mirror and they both said "No." at the exact same time.

"We knew you'd only worry, so we decided it was best if you didn't know."

"Et tu, Brute," I said, letting go of Edward's hand to cross my arms over my chest.

Edward chuckled. "Aren't you overreacting just a tad, Bella?" he reached out to grasp my hand again, pulling my arms apart.

"No. I wish you'd have told me this last week so I could have prepared properly. I'm terrible with names, I'm going to mix everybody up and have them hate me forever because of it."

"You would have preferred long study sessions where we taught you all the names and their background stories, and then end all in a written exam?" Alice sounded teasing, though her idea did sound pretty good.

"Maybe. More than this, knowing that tomorrow night I'm going to be meeting your entire family and I don't know any of their names."

"You'll do great, I promise." Edward brought our joined hands up to his mouth and placed a lingering kiss on the top of my hand.

I tried to calm my nerves as we entered the house; the Christmas spirit was practically radiating from the house, and I wanted to be able to enjoy myself as much as possible. Deck the Halls was playing, and I could hear Esme singing along in the kitchen.

"I'll go and leave your luggage in my room," Edward said before kissing my cheek and taking the bag from my hands.

"Am I sleeping in your room?" I asked, surprised. "Are Esme and Carlisle okay with that?"

"Yeah, as long as we use protection and try to keep the noise down," Alice stated matter of factly. "I think it comes from dad being a doctor."

I blushed, knowing there was no way I'd feel comfortable having sex with Edward, knowing his parents were just down the hall. Alice and I went into the kitchen, where Esme was standing and making dinner. Her smile was big as she hugged both of us.

"I'm so glad you're spending the holidays with us," Esme said as she let me go, and I smiled.

"I'm glad to be here."

"You've been so good to Alice, but especially Edward. He seems much lighter and happier nowadays."

I blushed. "He brings that out in me too."

Speak of the devil; I felt Edward's arms circle around my waist and his chin resting on my shoulder. Esme's smile got larger, and it was plain to see that she was happy for us.

We didn't do much for the rest of the day; Alice and I went outside to attempt to make a snowman. By the time we were finished it was almost evening, and the thing still just looked like a blob of snow. We finally called it quits and instead went inside and curled up in front of the fireplace with a mug each of Esme's warm apple cider. Edward joined us and I snuggled up against his side, just enjoying the company of my friends. It was nearly midnight when Alice yawned loudly and announced she was going to bed.

"Goodnight, Alice,"

"Goodnight, Bella, Edward." She hugged us both and then languidly went upstairs.

Edward and I sat in silence for a few minutes, until the silence was interrupted by my very large and loud yawn. Edward chuckled and reached out to stroke my cheek.

"You tired, love?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we should go to bed too."

I did my nightly routines and changed into my pyjamas in Edward's bathroom before turning off the light and joining him in bed. He lay on his side, clad only in grey boxers. My heart sped up, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do. I was **not** fooling around with him with his parents just down the hall. Unfortunately, Edward didn't see it the same way because the moment I lay down next to him he practically attacked me.

"Edward," I tried to sound serious, but it was really hard, no pun intended, with his lips on my neck and his hand sliding down between my legs. Though my inner voice was screaming at me to stop, I grabbed Edward's hand in my own and pulled it away from my body. "I don't want to do this with your parents in the same house."

"They don't really care, you do know that?"

"I do know that, but I care. I don't feel comfortable. Can't we just sleep?"

Edward smiled slightly and kissed me lightly. "Of course." He lay down beside me and wrapped his arm around my middle before pulling me close to him. The lengths of his body against mine made me sigh in contentment, and I covered his hand with my own. He kissed my neck and then I felt him bury his nose in my hair.

"Night, love."

"Goodnight, Edward."

**Like it? Loathe it? Let me know.**


	24. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Author's note: I'M NOT DEAD! I promise! I have NO excuses whatsoever for taking this darn long to update, other than saying that RL is an effing bitch. I'm halfway done with chapter 24, and expect it to be finished within the next few days. Chapter 25 will hopefully follow pretty shortly after that. I hope that someone at least is still reading this story, even though I've been a terrible author. I'll bake you all virtual help-me-feel-better-please-cookies. Here's a small excerpt from chapter 24, hope you like it.**

(I will remove this AN as soon as chapter 24 is up, so if you review this you won't be able to review the real chapter later. I'd rather you just send me a PM, if you feel like it, of course.

**Excerpt from Chapter 24:**

"It's not just people; they're your relatives. What if they all hate me? Do you really think Edward wants to be with someone who's hated by his entire family?"

"I don't hate you. Neither does mom and dad."

I snorted. "Thanks, that really helps."

**HAVE FAITH!**


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